Savior
by CCougar42709
Summary: The long journey of putting Cat Valentine back together...
1. Bailout

Cat POV

_So bored…but when aren't I? _

This place is miserable. Except when Beck, Jade Tori and Andre come and visit. Oh, Robbie's parents too. They usually come at least once a week. At least I get to see them.

Suddenly people started running everywhere as the door opened.

_AAHH!_

Oh. It's just a nurse.

I swear, this place has too many nuts people. Any stranger comes in and everyone starts running.

So weird. I'm pretty sure I'm the most normal person here.

The nurse smiled as she slowly came walking to me, holding a bag.

_This is weird. Ever since I've been in here they usually bring stuff to me individually._

"Here you go sweetheart." She smiled at me.

I swallowed, and took the bag from her.

_Wait a minute…this isn't right. This has all of the stuff that I had on me in the mall._

My phone, the Credit Card, lipstick, a backup lighter and a whole bunch of other random stuff.

Why'd she give this to me?

_Weird…_

I guess it's nice. It seems like forever since my days didn't consist of visits down a hallway to someone who told me that I need to talk to people like them about my stress.

I remember I screamed at one point "You're telling me that so I just come back and you make a lot of money!"

Then I was in my room for a while then more frequent visits by Beck and everyone, plus the stupid therapist.

Never the one person I do want to see though.

They have complete control of everything that gets to me. I remember the warden flipped out after Beck gave me a journal to write down everything that's going around here. Apparently they needed to make sure that he didn't sneak a love note into one of the pages.

A love note would be nice. Better than the whitewash of this miserable place.

Feeling very funny, I reached for my phone and pressed the home button, trying to goad it into turning on.

_Yay! Power! _

After a few moments the screen flashed the Pear logo and I found myself looking at my home screen, with raindrops as the background.

I'm pretty sure that wasn't what I left it as.

In fact, I'm 100 percent sure.

_It was a picture of Robbie and me smiling._

Geez, what is this? China? It's not like if I see his face I'm going to fall back into insanity.

I was never insane in the first place. I just…

I don't even remember. I remember thinking how mad Robbie would be about the smoking, he and Laken getting it on and…

Next thing I knew, I was here.

The first few weeks I guess were nothing but therapy. I don't know the date or anything. I'm just guessing that it was few weeks. But anyway, once I did get to see Beck, Tori, Andre and Jade they explained that apparently my brain went into shutdown mode and I freaked, running into Christianson & Finch's. From there, I went to the dressing room and started muttering like a crazy person.

"_You were saying…Laken won, Laken won." Jade said, looking fearfully at me. Beck and Andre looked on apprehensively, like they were half thinking about restraining me._

"_Really? I don't even remember. Last thing I remember is shopping at Panda Mountain."_

Which as I said earlier, is a lie. I…just don't want to worry them about the sudden stoppage of memory. The therapists call it "selective memory". Basically, when the brain goes into extra overdrive and stuff that has secretly been eating at you comes to the front of your mind.

Which doesn't make any sense, since I told them that I thought of Laken RIGHT before I snapped.

They called her "the trigger".

Cool name for an action movie. Maybe Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Which we never saw.

Phoo. It's probably on DVD now.

I scroll down to my messages and to inbox.

Ok, maybe they didn't go thru everything. Because the first message I see is: "_Cat? You ok? You said you would be back and its 10 PM. Everything alright?"_

Talk about selective censorship. Makes absolutely no sense. If you completely shut him off from me, and take him off my wallpaper why not delete everything from my inbox from him?

Taking that one step further, why not delete him from my contacts entirely? If this is really for "My own good."

As they have repeatedly told me over the time I've been here.

Sorry, I really don't mean to be so condescending and second guessing. It's just that I have no knowledge of anything that is going on in the outside world. So I'm a bit stir crazy.

Which is why I think China owns this place. All the censorship.

Things have certainly changed out there, I'm sure. I bet when I get out there'll be some amazing changes like "US invades Portugal!" or "Chevy invents new car that goes faster than speed of light. Name rumored to be Chevy Bolt."

That's not the only thing that has changed either. This place has gone thru staff like nothing I've ever seen. Seems like every other week there are a new set of nurses and staff members looking at us, eyes suspicious.

Plus, they made me change my hair back to brown.

And when I say 'made', I mean they threatened to cut off visitors for a week. I did it, but told Beck and Jade the next time I saw them. Never saw that lady again. Usually the staff rotates, never the same. She's the only one that never repeated.

I get to my feet and make my way back to my room, and collapse on the cold sheets.

I glance back at my wallpaper, and let out a sigh.

_The sad thing is…_

I don't really remember what he looks or sounds like.

If that was the goal of all this censorship, it worked like a charm. I realized I was forgetting stuff early on, and fought so hard to write down everything I could think of to remember him, but it didn't really work.

I remember the day that I forgot the last bit. It was him telling me "What's up sunshine?"

Doesn't seem like much, but it was so special to me. A sign of what was.

That day was full of therapy and me keeping myself awake. I went back to my room after the sun went down. Every time I had to myself I replayed "What's up sunshine?" until I ate, then until I fell asleep.

I collapsed onto the sheets and…

Nothing.

I'm not going to lie, I panicked. I frantically started going thru everything, trying to remember what he sounded like.

Nothing. I had lost him. Then most of the memories, then what he looked like…but not his voice. But I finally lost that too.

I didn't eat that night. I just cried. All night.

That was probably the worst part. I had lost my goal. I lost my desire to get out of here.

It took a while, but now…I have everything back. My purse, phone…lighter, lipstick…

Buzz Buzz.

My phone!

New message!

YAY PEOPLE!

"Cat? Hello? –Jade"

Oh my god. I can talk to her.

I can talk to everyone.

"Hi! Jade! They JUST gave me back my phone! –Cat"

Buzz Buzz.

"Cat? You there? –Beck"

OMG.

This is AWESOME!

Buzz Buzz.

Now my phone is blowing up. Talk about comedy.

"Cat! Hey girl! –Tori"

"Hey! I just got back to my phone back! –Cat"

I sent that one to Tori and Beck.

"Yeah, they just called me. Did they say you're getting out? –Jade"

…

…

I'm getting out.

Goodbye prison, hello world outside!

I let out a giggle and replied "No, am I getting out? Is that what the call was about?"

Buzz Buzz

Buzz Buzz

Buzz Buzz

"Sweet!-Tori"

"Awesome! Good to hear from you without being in some creepy room lol :) –Beck"

"Yeah! Get your stuff! I'll be there in 10 minutes! –Jade"

I quickly hopped off my bed and grabbed my bag, and started taking my meticulously folded clothes and quickly piling them back inside the bag.

I don't really care about if stuff gets wrinkled, I can do laundry at home.

On my own time. As opposed to the twice weekly laundry time.

_Wait…_

I think I skipped a big step.

I haven't paid any bills or done anything since I got in here. I don't know how I could have. But I never paid.

So my apartment is gone.

And everything inside. To pay the bills.

Talk about change.

I continue to pack my stuff up, but at a slower place.

Here, everything is certain, regimented, routine.

Outside, in the real world…it's on you. Nobody except family and friends will help you out.

I look up from my purse, which is about half full and see everything is inside. There's nothing left to pack.

I started to lie down on the bed when the door opened to a friendly looking nurse.

She smiled and looked ready to laugh. "Looks like you heard. C'mon, let's get you out of here."

The entire way to the front desk, she told me how proud everyone was of me, and how they didn't think I'd be back anytime soon.

If they're trying to get me to donate to keep this place running they might actually be the insane ones.

Finally, we reached the front desk, where Jade was signing…something. Suddenly she gave the clipboard back and the nurse that had her hand on me guided me out the door then let go.

I turned to see where she went only to find a closed door behind me.

Then—

"CAT!"

What felt like 50 people suddenly tackled me into a hug, and refused to let me go.

"EEP! Ahh! Can't breathe!" I managed to get out, then they suddenly let go.

I barely saw Tori, Beck , Jade and Robbie's parents standing in front of me, smiling happily, then Jade suddenly tackled me into a hug and started crying.

Everyone just stood back as she just cried and whispered "It's so good to see you…" into my ear.

Pretty soon, everyone else had hugged me and whispered how happy they were to see me out of that terrible place.

And we were just standing there.

"Excuse me, Ms. West? This is a hospital, not a reunion hall, I have to ask you to leave." The lady behind the desk asked, not sounding pleased.

"Fine. We'll leave. Don't expect any big donations!" She said as the others guided me out the door and into the blinding sunlight.

"Here, thought you might need these." Robbie's dad said, handing me some sunglasses I bought a while back.

Actually, I didn't buy them. Robbie did.

"Thank you." I said, putting them on and following Tori and Beck, who seemed to be bouncing around.

"Where are Andre and Robbie?" I asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.

Suddenly Tori and Robbie's mom gave each other a look and Beck said "I think you should ride in Jade's car."

That was NOT what I asked!

I begrudgingly climbed into the front seat of Jade's car.

"Where are we going?" I asked once she climbed in and started the car.

"Pepper's." She said with a smile. "You've lost some weight and we were thinking that you could use some unhealthy food."

"I have?" I asked, suddenly scared.

I hope it isn't noticeable. I want to look nice.

"Yeah, but look at it this way. You can have burgers and milkshakes until you explode!" She said happily, laughing at the end.

That sounds amazing. The hospital food was terrible. I won't eat them until I explode though. I don't think so at least.

"Thank you." I said, smiling at the end.

"No problem, it's a special day!" She said, practically yelling the last part.

It is. The best day in…a long time.

"What is today?"

"Like the date?" She replied, looking at me weird.

"Yeah."

"May 3rd. You didn't know that?" She asked, looking stunned.

"No. I didn't even know how long I was there."

"A long time." Jade said.

I missed Christmas. New Years. A whole semester of school.

I disappeared for 5 entire months.

"Oh. How was CTC?" I asked.

_I better get to know how things were out here with her, along with Tori and Beck._

_Andre, Robbie's parents…_

_And…you know,_

_Him._

"Didn't go. None of us did. Your doctor when all of this started recommended that you be in the most stable environment for you, which meant us staying with you. Tori, Andre and I have all been doing album stuff and spinning our wheels. Beck has been doing some modeling and working at ironically, Christianson & Finch's."

"Where are they?" I asked, still processing all the stuff she just told me.

"Who?"

"Andre and Robbie."

We stopped at a stop light and Jade ran her hand thru her hair.

"I'm prefacing what I'm about to say that we're all ecstatic you are out. Ok? But of all the days for you to get out, for both of them, today was the worst one. They're down in Santa Barbara talking to IMG about Andre's work. He could drop a mix tape and album in a month. He's really close."

_He's so far away.._

Not that far away. It's just terrible luck that out of all the days for me to get out TODAY was the day and they had to go to Santa Barbara.

"Have you talked to him?" I asked.

Jade smirked and glanced at me. "No, he said he had to turn his phone off during the meeting. He'll turn it back on when they start heading back here."

"They aren't getting a hotel?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"Nah. One of them will drive until they get tired, then switch off and drive the rest of the way back."

_Beck's working at Christianson & Finch's. How ironic._

"Don't worry, you'll see Robbie tomorrow." Jade glanced at me, smirking.

Yay! We're here!

I hopped out of the car and waited for Beck to stop next to me, then I yanked open his door and hugged him.

"Hey…" He said, hugging me back.

"Thanks for waiting for me…" I said, unable to prevent a couple of tears from seeping out.

"Sure…what do you mean?" He asked, letting me go and looking at me weird.

"CTC. Jade said everyone worked since I went to the hospital."

"Oh. No problem. Anything for you, you know that." He smiled, hugging me again.

Finally, we let go and went inside, got a table and stared at the menu.

"Hungry Cat?" Robbie's dad asked, smiling at me.

"Very." I replied. I'm going to follow Jade's suggestion and start on the path to explosion. Burger, Fries and a milkshake.

Everyone was silent for a moment, glancing either at the surrounding tables or the menu.

"Can I ask a few things?" I croak out, betraying how nervous I actually am. I want to know everything that's been going on and can't wait any longer.

"Shoot." Tori smiled.

"Beck, Jade said you were working at Christianson & Finch?"

He laughed and put his menu aside. "Yeah, gotta start somewhere."

"How's that going?"

"Ok I guess, I could take you by tonight if you want. Nothing really special." He shrugged.

"That sounds fun." I smiled.

Gives me something to do.

And prevents me from taking Jade's car and driving toward Santa Barbara.

"What else?" Tori asked, looking interested.

"How is work coming Mr. Shapiro?"

"It's ok. Economy looks like it's on a permanent upswing, which makes my job a lot more fun."

"Ok…I'm not like being intrusive or anything am I?" I asked, worried I was asking too many questions.

"No sweetheart, you're fine. I bet you've been going nuts in that place, not knowing anything. Ask whatever you want." Robbie's mom smiled at me.

"What can I get everyone?" The waitress suddenly appeared, handing us our drinks and pulling out a notepad.

She took everyone's orders and left soon afterward.

"What after this? I don't have—" I began, but Robbie's dad cut me off.

"What don't you have?"

"Well, I never paid the bills on anything. I think everything is gone."

All Mr. Shapiro did was look VERY confused at me.

Then Beck laughed. Everyone else joined in and Mr. Shapiro even chuckled.

"Cat, everything is where you left it. Apartment, SUV, everything was taken care of." He reassured me, rubbing my shoulder.

"By who?"

Tori smirked. "Who do you think took care of it?"

"You?" I turned to Mr. Shapiro.

"Nope. I did the hospital bills."

"Robbie did." Jade said suddenly, sipping her tea.

Why am I not surprised.

But…wow. 6 months of payments on the SUV, and apartment. Not counting utilities.

I owe him now more than ever.

_One night together and you won't owe him anymore._

No.

Too soon. I haven't even been out two hours.

He might be with Laken. He might be with some girl he met.

6 months is a long time you know.

I swallow my question, the one I'm DYING to know the answer to and sip my milkshake placidly.

"You're taking that well, we were expecting you to be worried about him paying all that stuff." Beck said, glancing at me.

"I'll talk to him later on. No need to worry about it though. I'm relieved it's there though."

"Well, look at the alternative. That isn't an option. We knew you were going to get out, but not when. We decided to put school off for Jadelynn and everyone and play things by ear until you got out. Now that today has come, we can move forward." Robbie's dad told me.

To his left, Jade went a light pink and Beck hugged her.

_No…_

I think…

Are they going out again?

Please say yes.

That's what we need. More love in the world after all that has happened.

"Thanks…" I said, overjoyed for Beck and Jade and at how everyone stepped up for me.

"Of course. Now—"

"Who has the burger, fries and milkshake?" The waitress asked, suddenly reappearing. I raised my hand and she placed it in front of me.

The others got their food and started eating.

"Cat, what are you waiting for?" Tori asked, mouth half full.

"I was just thinking when I start I'm going to eat until everything is gone."

"Well what are you waiting for then?" Beck asked.

"Bye." I said quickly, grabbing some fries and devouring them.

Everyone started laughing and eating as well.

Robbie POV

I leaned the seat back and let out a huge yawn.

_C'mon Andre…it's not THAT hard to pay for gas…_

"You can be my it girl…"

OH YEAH! That's my freaking SONG right now!

"Oooh, Oooh. Let me play it live…"

I completely forget that I'm parked by a gas pump in Santa Barbara, Cali after eating dinner and must look like a complete idiot, in the car by myself.

But who really cares right?

"Let me say it live, let me sing it live…"

The song ended just as Andre emerged from the gas station, talking to an attractive girl. She waved and—

"Bye Alicia!" He said, shutting the door and handing me a drink.

"Sorry about that, she just started talking me up and then I saw how hot she was and…" He apologized as I began making my way back towards the highway.

"I get it. She was cute." I admit.

"Thanks man, knew you'd understand. I'm going to catch some z's ok?" He smiled, reaching into the back seat for his headphones.

"Sounds good." I said, as he put on the headphones and the car went quiet.

_Better turn my phone on before I hit the highway. Once I'm there I won't have time._

I dig in the compartment separating Andre and I, finally find my phone, press the button to turn it on and put it in the cup holder.

This car is so fancy there's a phone holder ON the steering wheel. I never use it though, I try not to text and drive.

Last time I regularly did…well…

Yeah.

Soft snores start to fill the car as I breeze thru a few stoplights, but unfortunately not getting the LAST one before I hit the highway.

_Oh well…might as well check my phone._

Whoa. 13 new messages.

Hope everything is alright.

I pressed inbox and new messages.

_Hey, I have GREAT NEWS. Just got a call from Methodist. Cat's getting out today. -Jade_

…

…

…

What? The ONE day in MONTHS I'm out of town and unavailable?

That's just great.

The rest of the messages had a similar tone.

Cat's out of Methodist. For good.

_Wow…_

I guess I'm kind of in…shock? It's good I mean, obviously…but I haven't thought about her in a few months.

Sounds terrible, but hear me out. You try thinking about someone that you are not allowed to have any kind of contact on a daily basis.

Tougher than you think.

Green light.

I hit the gas and am on the way home in minutes.

Back to LA.

Back to Cat.

More like…back to reality.

I mean, the last 5 months have been surreal. Everything I had been working towards shut down in an instant. It took me a few days to comprehend the severity of what happened.

Cat had a COMPLETE mental breakdown. She could be a completely different person.

I'm not going to lie, I was not myself for like a week. Probably would have been longer if Methodist hadn't let the others see her.

And I heard she was still…Cat. A bit down, but still the happy young woman we all know and love.

But I still couldn't talk to her.

I got close. I worked for weeks trying to get around Methodist's strict policies. At one point I had an appointment with Cat. But someone high above looking at the situation called the day I was supposed to see her and said "Yeah, you're not seeing her."

After that…Laken asked me out. I accepted. And I got into kind of a groove. Working for my dad…going out with Laken, and waiting.

Laken and I ended up breaking it off after a few weeks. We didn't want to get to a point that it would be awkward since things weren't going amazingly.

The time's really flew, and now things are finally falling back into a sense of normal.

_What am I going to do? _

I haven't even thought about it honestly. No point in thinking about something that might come in a few months.

Never thought it would come in a few weeks. Or days even.

I really wish the stupid hospital would have given us a warning before discharging her. Now I'm out of town and not there when she begins to get acclimated to life again.

Los Angeles 95 miles.

Damn it!

What if she doesn't want to see me? For all I know that stupid place brainwashed her into thinking that she hates me!

Yeah, sounds crazy right? This is what I avoided by not thinking about her.

I literally know NOTHING. I know she left the night before she went off and I gave her my credit card the day of reckoning, hugged her and…

Press pause for 5 months.

I had to get a new credit card because the STUPID hospital wouldn't give me it back. Yeah, it has my name on it but they said "It was in her belongings, so it stays here."

Yeah, in other news, screw you Methodist.

If you got firebombed tomorrow, no skin off my back. I got Cat back; you may now go straight to hell.

"Hey dude." Andre said suddenly, tapping my arm.

"Yeah man, what's up?" I asked, refocusing on the road.

"Did you see Jade's text? Apparently Cat got out today." He said, sounding happy.

"Yeah, I saw." I said dismissively.

"You ok? You sound unhappy."

"I'm cool, I'm really glad she's out." I deflected.

"Me too. You just don't sound happy." He pressed.

"I…what if she hates me or something?" I asked. "What then?"

"Dude, I don't think that's going to be a problem. What you need to ask yourself is what are you going to do that is going to help her out the most. That's what you need to concentrate on. This is bigger than you, me and everyone else. She's always been a bit wild, but we loved her for that. Now it's up to us to get her back to where she wants to be."

"Yeah, but that does leave out one big thing. What am I going to do right now to make that happen? I sent her to that damn place!" I exclaimed, hitting the steering wheel.

"Dude, as bad as it sounds, I can't help you. You really can't either. Cat was afraid of losing you to Laken. She was apparently right, since you guys did go out for a bit. But you guys have some major issues you need to work out."

"I know." I admitted, trying to focus on the road.

Cat POV

Beck pulled into the mall and killed the ignition. I pressed the unlock button and climbed out and shutting the door. Beck did the same to my right.

This has a creepy sense of déjà vu to it.

I can SEE Panda Mountain. I was there 5 months ago.

Beck didn't mention the Christianson & Finch he works in is the one I flipped out in.

I tried taking in my surroundings, seeing the lights, excitement and atmosphere of the real world for the first time in a long time.

Suddenly Beck grabbed my hand. "You're fine. Nothing is going to happen. Do you know why you're here?"

I shook my head and we walked into the mall and headed towards Great Canadian Cookie.

"You need to exercise your demons from here. This is a bad memory for you. I chose this location to work at because of what happened. You need to get over this, and what night is better than tonight?"

I sighed, and snuggled closer to him.

"You want one? I'm in the mood for gingerbread…" Beck mused, running his thumb over my hand and causing me to shiver.

"Yeah…I'll have chocolate chip." I said quietly. Beck quickly stepped forward, acquires the cookies and paid the kind gentleman and made his way back to me.

_Hold up. He's not in uniform for work…he's wearing normal…Beck clothes._

"Beck? Why aren't you wearing a uniform or anything?" I asked, munching on my cookie.

He laughed. "Actually, I am. Look at the jeans."

Christianson & Finch.

"You have to wear their stuff to work?"

"Yeah, kind of like a human mannequin." He smiled and led me into the store.

"Oliver! You're early…and…" his boss called out, looking at me.

"I can explain, C'mere…" He pulled his boss aside and winked at me.

Beck and his boss quickly started talking.

_I guess I can walk around…_

Geez, I guess there's a reason why Robbie doesn't shop here. This place is PRICY. The shirts are nice and soft though.

Where's the girls section?

Oh, downstairs…ok.

I start walking towards the escalator and the cologne section.

Hold on…that can't be right…

Robbie doesn't shop here.

But there's his cologne. His staple that he uses when going out to a restaurant or something. The bottle has a little eagle on it.

I make my way over to where it is displayed, grabbing a bottle and spraying my wrist.

_WHOA…_

That's it alright. It's like…

He's standing right next to me. He just hugged me, and is smiling happily.

"Cat?" Beck said happily. I turned around to see him walking towards me, smiling.

"C'mon, we're good. I want to show you something." He grabbed my hand again and started back towards the front, but took a turn towards the dressing rooms.

Where the paramedics found me.

"Beck…" I said, unsure of what he was doing.

"It's ok…" Beck said, opening a stall and ushering me in.

It's empty…white, with a couple of places to put your hangers.

Completely normal.

"This is where they found you. Right here in fact." He pointed to the corner closest to me.

"Why…why are you telling me this?" I asked quietly.

I'm scared. I don't want to go back. I don't know why…but I don't feel right.

"Does anything seem different to you?"

"Everything is different. Everything has changed." I said bluntly.

"I meant the dressing room."

"Oh. It's just another dressing room. Nothing weird or anything."

"That's' actually the point. And you're wrong by the way. Nothing has changed. Yeah, material things have changed. So what? Everyone is still here Cat. Nobody is going anywhere. We all want to do what is best for you. We want you to say something if you feel stressed. Especially about a guy. And even if it is Robbie. Because we want you to be happy ok? This dressing room is completely normal, and so are you. Don't go around living in fear that you might collapse again. You are stronger than that and we all know that. We're here for you ok? Anytime, we're a call or text away. Ok? Now…" He started digging in his pocket.

"You want to drive back to your place by yourself? Or you want to hang around and wait for Jade and Tori to come with you?" He asked, extending my keys to me.

Freedom.

Right in front of me. On a keychain.

But…I don't think I'm ready yet. I don't want to go home to an empty, dusty apartment alone.

"Can I wait for Jade and Tori?" I asked quietly, taking the keys.

"Sure. Don't want to go home alone?" He smirked, biting his cookie.

I nodded.

"Can't blame you." He said, pulling his phone out of his other pocket. "I wouldn't want to go home to a empty place either."

"Thanks for the cookie Beck." I said as he typed something out on his phone as he had his cookie between his teeth.

"Anytime. Promise me something though?" He asked, giving me a serious look.

He doesn't do that often.

"Ok." I squeaked out, and he pulled me into a hug.

"Don't mope around. Find something to do. Whatever you do end up doing, don't live in fear ok?


	2. Same Difference

Robbie POV

9: 45 AM.

8 hours of sleep for a change. Believe it or not I've been spending a lot of time at the office slaving away for my dad. It's not even fun work…just grunt stuff he doesn't want to do.

Like chores. My chores are the stuff he doesn't want to do.

At least I get paid.

The only complaint I have about the 8 hours of "sleep" is that it wasn't restful at all. I woke up two or three times and stared at the ceiling.

I feel like I should be somewhere else in this process. I should be past the "staring at the ceiling" phase. I should be doing SOMETHING.

The thing is: That's my specialty. Tons of people, Jade, Beck, Tori, Andre, my parents, friends of my parents, they ALL say I make stuff happen.

But I have NO idea what to do.

I would buy something for Cat. Flowers, Fro-Yo, chocolate…but that seems to have a hint of desperation to it.

And while I am desperate to see her, I don't want to seem like it. Obviously.

Don't want to creep her out.

Jesus, I wish I knew SOMETHING in the last 5 months. I feel like I'm meeting a new person.

I'm glad I made myself get up at 8:30, make a quick breakfast and shower. I'm not glad that I'm now lounging on my just made bed.

I'm so lazy.

I have no energy.

Except for Cat's restless energy.

Then I don't know what to do. Too much restless energy and not enough usable energy.

"_I like it when you take charge. I think it's sexy and I always love it."_

Thanks Cat. That's what I need to do. Take charge. Easier said than done.

How?

_Think Robbie…not romantic, not desperate…just happy to see her._

That knocks out chocolate. And Fro-Yo. Too many romantic strings.

I'm thinking flowers. They can be romantic, but only in the right light. Most of the time they symbolize happiness or condolences.

Flowers it is.

She liked the lilies I got her awhile back.

Lilies it is.

I quickly hopped to my feet, grabbing my keys, wallet and pearPod.

I just set it to shuffle and enjoy the random awesomeness of the songs. Made a 15 minute drive to the flower shop near the pier go by really really fast.

_I've got this. _

Halfway there.

_This is kind of surreal. I'm actually going to see her. In person. _

I was hoping for so long that I could even get a little note. Instead, I get her in person.

If you can't tell, I'm trying to collect my thoughts. It's a little late in the game for that since I just parked in her complex.

_Deep breaths and relax._

I'll be fine.

If I only could make myself believe this.

_Left leg up, down. Right leg…_

"_Before you is a door, which will change the path of everything forever…"_

What? Why am I thinking of that right now? Why on EARTH am I thinking of Stephanie's sociology professor right before I knock on Cat's door?

These flowers better work.

_More like THIS better work. Otherwise I'll have to call Laken back._

Which isn't something I want to do. I want this to work. I NEED this to work.

"Knock, Knock…"

Nothing…

_Great._

I knock again…

Nothing…again.

_Is she home? _

I instinctively pull out my phone, thinking of texting her.

\_Wow, I haven't texted Cat in…awhile._

"Hey Cat, it's Robbie. You busy? I have a surpr—"

MY PHONE!

I do not know how I just did that. I didn't even know there was a phone sized hole in Cat's porch. I just know that I managed to drop my phone thru that crack and TWO floors down onto straight concrete.

"Damn it!" I muttered, moving towards the stairs.

Cat caused me to break my phone again. That's two for our last two incidents. The last one, if you forget was when I found out Cat keyed Laken's car. I threw my phone against the wall, completely destroying the screen.

I balance the lilies on the handrail right outside the door and quickly race down the stairs to where my phone lays.

…

…

At least it's in one piece? I guess that's the good news? The bad you ask?

The screen resembles a spider web more than a phone screen. Cracks EVERYWHERE.

Well, I did manage to drop it 3 stories. I swear, only I can do this.

Looks like I need a new phone. Jesus, they are NOT going to be happy with me. They grudgingly gave me a new pearPhone last time. How will I explain dropping it 3 stories straight onto concrete?

Wait…why am I here anyway?

…

…

…

Cat. Right.

Looks like the phone will have to wait. At least until I talk to her.

I sigh and put my shattered phone back in my pocket, racing BACK up 3 flights of stairs…

Where the lilies are GONE.

_ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I go to all this trouble for her, and then some lousy neighbor probably just looked out of their peephole and took them!_

This is TOTALLY looking like my kind of day.

And I'm supposed to see—

…

…

…

Cat.

Looking at me from her now open front door.

_Wait…why is her hair back to brown? Nobody mentioned that!_

Beautiful as ever though. A little thin for my taste, but I've ALWAYS think she needs to put on 10 lbs. Of course, I would NEVER say that to her face but…

She does look thin.

"Hey there." I croaked out, trying to smile but failing.

It's downright surreal to have her right here in front of me, two feet away after not being allowed access to her for 5 months. I know I've repeated it, but I cannot stress how WEIRD it is.

"Hi. You hungry?" She asked, shyly smiling.

"Nah, already ate." I shrugged.

Suddenly she reached out, grabbed my hand and started pulling me inside her apartment.

"C'mon…this isn't a place for a conversation." She said quietly as I entered her apartment.

_Whoa…_

Everything is…dead. Not like plants or anything, the house plants she kept around Jade took care of. I never stopped by in the time Cat was at Methodist. What I mean by dead is the light that seemed to jump off everything like I remember it, isn't there. The light hits it and…dies.

"Sorry it's so dusty. I was planning on cleaning before inviting you over…but you came too fast." She said, letting go of my hand and making her way back to the kitchen, where the sound of bacon sizzling met my ears.

"No problem…" I muttered, glancing at the paintings on the walls. I've never ever seen another house with this kind of painting of the walls, let alone an apartment. People usually paint a general color and leave it be. I've mentioned before that Cat turned the white walls that were here in the beginning into gigantic murals. Some make sense, others…not so much.

God that bacon smells good.

"Cat?" I call out, still looking at the border directly below the ceiling.

"Yeah?"

"Are you making any extra bacon?"

"Hehe…yeah!"

"Can I have some please?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Sure! Do you want any eggs too?"

"How are you making them?" I asked.

Probably scrambled or over easy.

"Omelet!"

_WHAT?_

"Omelet?" I asked, turning around in shock.

Since when did Cat make omelets?

"When did you learn to do that?" I asked, poking my head in the kitchen to see Cat surrounded by omelet ingredients. Green pepper, ham, cheese, bacon bits, jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, chives, green onions...

Basically everything you need to make the mother of all omelets.

"At the hospital. They had little seminars to keep us busy. I learned stuff like how to sew better, make a resume for a job and cook! Here—" She grabbed a small white bowl and handed it to me and shifted so I could access the ingredients.

"Grab what you want except the cheese. That comes last." She finished, fishing the bacon out of the stone cooker and putting it onto a plate.

"Yes ma'am." I said, awestruck. I did exactly as instructed and handed her my bowl.

She briefly glanced at it, peeked at the ingredients again and grabbed two or three more pieces of ham.

"Here, you need more ham. That makes everything better." She said, with a little flair at the end.

"Ok…I'll just get out of your way then." I said, sidling out of the kitchen and moving to set the table.

Mind you, if my head could spin 360 degrees right now, it would be at about 200 mph right now.

_She LEARNED stuff in that wretched place?_

Wow.

Just…wow.

The best part is? She appears, at least on the surface to be completely fine! I mean, that's what everyone repeatedly told me but…

Seeing it in person changes everything.

This is just incredible.

"Table set?" She called out, as the sizzling on the pans increased quickly.

"Yeah!"

"Come watch this then!" She called out, sounding giddy.

I poke my head in to see her pour some sort of oil into both pans.

"It really isn't that hard, watch." She said, grabbing a small bowl full of scrambled egg, complete with milk.

"You know I'm not good at learning thru observation Cat. Recipe's, hands on stuff…that's how I cook." I say as she pours the egg into one pan, grabbing another bowl of scrambled eggs and pouring them into another pan.

"Yeah yeah." She said dismissively. "Now THIS is why I love gas!" She yelled, grabbing both bowls of omelet ingredients and pouring them into the pans of scrambled eggs.

_My god._

I think she really knows how to do this!

Now she's just got to cook it!

_Like that's not hard._

"You just wait until it starts to solidify…stir a bit…" She said, performing each step as she said it.

"And…"

The flip.

_Let's see her pull this off._

She quickly yanked the pan to her right towards her, positioned it down and…

"Plop."

Right on target.

"Aha!" She exclaimed, then repeating the process for the pan of the left.

"Nice job." I said, slightly awestruck.

"Thank you. Cheese?" She asked, gesturing to the last bowls.

"Sure." I shrugged. I'm not a huge cheese guy on omelets, but what can go wrong?

If it's bad, I'll just come over tomorrow, have her repeat the process and not have cheese.

_Skipping a lot of steps there…_

"Cheddar, White or Munster? Sorry about the limited choices." She said quickly.

"Not a problem at all sunshine…cheddar and white please."

"Light or heavy?"

All these choices…jeez. Like it's a restaurant.

Wasn't she in solitary at this time yesterday?

"Light please."

She deftly added the cheese, even putting a small amount on the side.

I instinctively move to grab the plate, but she swatted my hand away.

"OW!" I yelled. That actually hurt a bit.

"No no. You are my guest. Go sit at the table." She ordered, pointing towards the dining area.

"Yes ma'am…" I sighed, shuffling off to the table. Not two seconds after I sat down Cat came in with two plates, loaded with bacon and the gigantic omelets.

"Talk about five star service…who do I tip?" I joked, causing her to giggle and smile at me. She had just grabbed her fork when—

"Wait!" I yelled, getting to my feet.

"What?" She asked, sounding annoyed.

I quickly moved around the chair separating us and pulled her into a hug.

_Strawberries…_

Some things never change.

"Thanks Cat. This looks great." I whispered into her ear. She simply hugged me tightly for a moment, then relinquished me and began eating before I had sat back down.

The sound of us eating filled the room for a few minutes. The bacon is delish as expected. The omelet?

Heavenly.

I could get used to this…

"Wow, nice job Cat. This tastes great."

"Thank You."

"When did you get all the ingredients?" I asked, as she took another HUGE bite out of her omelet, making a small dent.

"Last night. Jade and Tori came home with me and helped me unpack. Then we got hungry and didn't want fast food. We wanted night breakfast. So we went to the store and got a whole bunch of groceries."

"What did you make?" I asked, curious.

"Pancakes."

Good lord.

She's a legitimate chef.

I mean, she could cook before…

But now?

She's practically at mom level.

This stuff is delicious!

"Nice…" I say, digging back into my omelet.

"Cat?"

"Robbie?"

Haha. We spoke at the exact same time after a brief moment of silence.

"You first Cat. You're the cook. Chef's prerogative I think it's called."

"Hehe, ok." She blushed and smiled at me.

_Where'd her omelet go?_

"What have you been up to? I heard that Tori and Jade and Andre have been doing album stuff, and I saw where Beck works last night. But I never heard what you did while I was gone." She asked, looking me dead in the face.

"Uhh…" I sputter out. "Well, mainly I've been representing Tori, Andre and Jade at IMG, settling schedules for all that stuff and working full time for my dad."

"Your dad?" She asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah."

"I thought you hated finance." She said flatly, stealing a bite of my omelet.

"I do. Too many sleazy people. But he offered me a good paying job that I could set my own hours, which I need because of the whole IMG thing. Can't turn that down."

"So you've been busy?" She asked, stealing another bite and causing me to smirk at her.

"Very." I said, quickly beating her to a bite of my omelet, which is quickly disappearing.

"You're right, this is good." She said, mouth clearing because of her bite.

"You would know, you have eaten like half of mine already." I playfully prodded her.

"Hey! I'm hungry. That hospital food was terrible. You have no idea how nice it is to have good tasting food again." She said defensively.

"Can't imagine. Hey, —OW!" I yelled, quickly pulling my hand out of my pocket and seeing that my index and middle fingers on my left hand are bleeding.

My phone.

"Oooh let me get you a bandage…" She jumped up and scurried off into another room.

Where did 5 months go? Isn't this supposed to be emotional or awkward or…something? This wasn't supposed to be breakfast a la 1year ago.

Wow.

We dated 1 year ago.

"You're going to hate me for this…but you need antiseptic." She stated bluntly, coming back in the room with cotton balls, bandages and the dreaded brown bottle.

"Cat, I do not need—"

"Shut up. You just cut the hell out of your fingers. What was it?" She asked, grabbing my hand and examining it.

"My phone. I dropped it. That's why I saw you coming up the stairs."

"Dropped it? All the way down?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"Yep. Cracked." I sighed.

"Well no duh you cut your hand…hold on…" She suddenly put her hand gingerly inside my pocket and fished around for my phone. She spent a second or two grasping my thigh, then feeling my phone and gingerly extracting it.

The moment she saw it fully she frowned.

"You need a new phone."

"Yep." I said flatly.

"Thanks for the flowers." She said suddenly.

"Huh?" I said stupidly, still thinking about my phone and how it cut my fingers.

"The flowers. I opened the door and saw them on the railing. I barely saw you all the way at the bottom. I was wondering what you were doing. But I forgot because…I was so happy to see you." She smiled at me.

"Oh. Thanks." I blushed and looked away. "Glad you like them."

"Now this is only going to hurt a—"

"OWWWWW!" I yelled and yanked my fingers away from the pain. I glanced at Cat, who had jumped back. She had a cotton ball in her hand.

Probably with antiseptic on it.

"A little warning next time?" I asked, gingerly handing her back my hand.

"Sorry." She said, sounding morbid. "I did warn you."

The next few moments Cat used a feather light touch to deftly apply bandages to my fingers in such a way that didn't affect my dexterity.

"Wow. Did they teach you first aid too?" I joked as she let go of my hand.

"Actually, yeah." She smiled, gathering up all of her medical supplies and retreating back out of the room.

I stood up and immediately saw the flowers, now in a familiar looking vase.

_Wait…that's the vase from the last time I got her lilies._

Score. Board.

Oh yeah!

I am on top of the world right now. Cat appears to be completely fine and learned a ton of stuff while in the Looney bin.

_Robbie. Do NOT call Methodist the Looney bin._

It's almost like slapping Cat in the face.

Suddenly my concentration was broken by a pair of arms wrapped around my waist.

"Mmmmmm." Cat hummed into my back. Which actually feels nice. It's been sore the last couple of days and especially today after that long drive.

"I missed this." She said, releasing me. Only for me to whip around and scoop her into my hug, sending her into derisive giggles.

"Not fair. Don't you think for a second that you can sneak up on me and hug me without getting your comeuppance." I joked, squeezing her extra tight then letting her go.

"Easy…I'm pretty full."

"Sowwy." I smiled, causing her to giggle.

Then both of us were quiet for a bit.

"So what now?" I asked her.

"Well…it's not fun, but I was thinking we need to get you a new phone." She said, looking up at me.

"To the pear store?" I asked.

"To the pear store!" She yelled medieval style. I laughed and opened the front door and held it for her.

"Aww, such a gentleman." She smiled as she exited the premises and waited for me to emerge so she could lock the door.

We plodded our way down the stairs and—

"Can we take your car?" Cat sweetly asked once we reached the bottom.

"Sure…any particular reason why?" I asked, curious.

"I haven't seen your sports car in a long time. Remember when all this stuff started it was in the shop after Kimberly totaled it."

Yeah, no need to remind me of that.

I made a noncommittal grunt and kept walking to my car.

"Still mad at her?" She asked sweetly.

"Seeing how she hasn't paid me a dime yet, yeah." I reply, trying to keep my voice even.

"Really? That's terrible Robbie…" She sighed, eyes briefly flashing at me before returning to the parking lot.

A moment or two later my intact and repaired sports car came into view.

"Beep Beep." I pressed the unlock button and next thing I knew, Cat was racing to the passenger's side door.

I calmly walked all the way around, purposely taking my time, opened my door, climbed in, closed it and meticulously buckled my seatbelt.

I turned around and moved to put the key in the ignition, only for Cat to be staring at me, looking on amused but trying to look angry.

"You need to work on that poker face…" I joked as the engine roared to life and I backed out of the space.

"I can't help it…you are funny."

"Funny huh?" I asked, pushing her buttons.

"Yeah, happy?" She defensively asked.

"Happier than in a while sunshine, that's for sure." I said, making my voice trail off and pulling out onto the main road to the pear store.

I briefly saw her go pink and start to say something but stop herself and look out her window.

"So…you learned to cook, sew and perform awesome first aid while in the hospital…is that all you did?" I asked as we pulled up to a red light.

"No…" She said, sounding positively depressed.

_She might not want to talk about it…_

I didn't think of that.

"I can change the subject if you want; it's ok if you don't want to talk about it." I retracted quickly.

God I'm an idiot. What part of me thought it would be ok to ask her that?

"No, it's ok. I kind of owe you an explanation anyway." She said, voice perking up.

"You don't owe me anything Cat. What's past is past. I shouldn't have asked you that. Sorry."

"Ok…" She said quietly, turning on the radio.

The rest of the drive went by as Adele, Gaga and Lady Antebellum took us the rest of the way to the pear store.

"Robbie?" Cat spoke up as I parked.

"Yeah?"

"I broke your phone ok? We were taking a picture and I dropped it off my balcony."

"Ok then. So we're lying about it?" I said, not actually opposed to it.

They're much more likely to give me a new phone if a pretty girl says she accidentally broke it.

"No, not lying. Acting." She said with a devious smile.

"Oh really? Have you used that before?"

"Not here, but with a policeman yes."

Pretty girl and short skirt syndrome.

"Wow Cat…you using your acting skills to get out of a ticket. Devious girl…" I smirked as I hopped out of the car and locked the doors.

But I also accidentally locked her in.

She moved to open the door since the door was locked, it didn't open.

"Hey! Robbie!" She yelled, hitting her hand lightly on the glass. "Not fair!"

I couldn't help but laugh as she gave me her best puppy dog face thru the window.

"Click."

"That wasn't funny." She said the second she stepped out of the car.

"True." I shrugged as she closed the door behind her with a sharp snap.

"It was hilarious."

Her eyes immediately shot to me and I made a break for it.

I'm not getting away with that one.

"Hehe, get back here!" She yelled as I dashed towards the door but had to quickly stop because I car was coming right where I needed to cross the road.

Slam.

Suddenly Cat came flying into me; somehow sending herself so high her legs whacked into my shoulders and wrapped themselves around my ribs.

"NO FAIR!" She yelled, hugging me at the same time.

"Very fair. You set that one up." I smiled as she hopped off me and followed me inside.

"How can I help you guys?" A friendly looking associate asked the moment we stepped inside the door.

"Um…yes." Cat quickly spoke up, grabbing my hand and looking slightly afraid. "I was taking a picture with my boyfriend here and I accidentally dropped his phone off my balcony and the screen broke. I know there's some kind of penalty but I was wondering if you could possibly wave that…?" Cat finished, looking hopeful.

"Sure…wow." She said as Cat handed him my phone. "How high is the balcony?"

"Three stories." Cat supplied immediately.

"Just a moment, I need to talk to my supervisor, but I believe we'll be able to give you a new phone for no penalty. What's you name sir?" She asked politely.

"Robbie Shapiro."

"Ok…Shapiro. I'll be right back."

I looked away from the retreating associate and to Cat, who was looking at a pearPad and looked smug.

"You made it look too easy." I sighed, shuffling over to her.

"Such are the benefits when you are a pretty actress…" She smiled.

"Wrong." I quickly said. Cat quickly whipped around.

"Wrong about what?" She demanded.

"Pretty."

"Oh really now?"

"Yep. I say beautiful." I quipped, chancing a glance at Cat.

She quickly went red and muttered "Charmer." before—

"Mr. Shapiro? We can get you a new phone for $20. Looking at your history can I recommend the insurance policy we offer…?"


	3. Turnover

I do NOT want to be up this early. It's the summer and I have to be in the office at 8.

I'd much rather be sleeping like everyone else is, but NOOO. I've got to go into work today. And probably every other day this week as I slowly intimate to my dad that I'd like to stop working for him. Working for him has been fun, but this was only a time killer in the end.

Yet here I am, taking the elevator up to the 29th floor after driving for an hour due to worse than normal traffic. That's why I avoid downtown at all costs. And the 5. I-5 for the uninitiated. Good lord. A 20 mile trip takes 45 min on a good day.

Ding.

I think they should retrofit these elevators with other sound effects. I was in another building a week or so ago and their elevator said the floor you are on when you got out.

Smart elevator.

I unlocked the door to the office and walked inside. Door's usually locked to keep out loiterers or passersby so I have no idea if dad's in yet. Hopefully not, he doesn't like me to use my pearPhone at work. Tough because I have someone to talk to now.

It kind of went unspoken when we hung out all Sunday that she wanted to see me daily, but with me at least working all this week we'll have to make due by—

_Wait…_

I've been fired!

BY MY OWN DAD!

Hold the phone, stop the presses AND stomp on the brakes. All at the same time.

I just got into my office. I noticed a stack of paper like there always is. I'm his "Go For…" boy so that's not unusual.

But it is.

The first page had a termination notice on it along with severance conditions.

My dad FIRED me!

I immediately spring out of my office, manifesto in hand and walk 10 feet to where his office is and open the door.

Mind you, he says ALWAYS knock.

"You fired me?" I ask quickly.

My dad, who was calmly looking at his 5 computer screen slowly wheeled around to face me.

And started laughing.

I don't see the humor.

"Robbie…no. I'm not firing you. Despite the Brokers mishap two weeks ago. The plan was for you to work for me until Cat got out. Cat got out on Friday. Today's Monday, the first work day since she got out. So we need to work out your pay and when you want to leave."

Oh.

"Really? It says Termination notice on it!" I say, trying to keep my voice calm.

_It really looks like he's firing me._

"That is just the form. Notice the first page is blank? The second page applies to you Robbie." He said calmly.

Oh.

"Ok then…"

"You seriously thought I was firing you Rob?" My dad asked, wheeling around to grab…a pen from his desk.

"Yeah! When you get a piece of paper that says 'Termination Notice' you tend to think you're getting fired!"

"Well next time I'll just shoot off a text." He rolled his eyes.

Typical Dad humor.

He doesn't text. He has a flip phone.

"Haha, very funny dad." I sighed, grabbing a chair and sitting next to his desk."

"It was wasn't it?" He smiled at me while grabbing my 'Termination Notice'.

"Ok, I filled out most of this stuff yesterday night. Just sign here that you won't sue me, initial here and…" He flipped the page.

"Sign here and you can walk."

I signed and initialed and handed him the papers.

"I thought we had to work out my pay?" I asked, putting his chair back.

"Nah…just give me the receipts from when you go out with Cat for the rest of the month ok? It's on me." My dad said, smiling and turning back to his multiple computer screens.

"Ok…thanks dad." I said, smiling to myself.

_Hey Cat, do you want to go to this 5 star place…_

"Rob? Do me a favor?" My dad called out as I started back towards my office.

"Yeah?" I replied, making my way back to his door.

"Don't be afraid to let Cat back in ok? I have a good feeling about all of this."

_What?_

This is very typical of my dad. He said all of that while not turning around from his multiple monitors with flashing stuff everywhere.

But what surprises me is that he usually stays quiet and doesn't offer his opinion on that kind of thing.

"Sure Dad..."

"See you for dinner on Thursday?"

"Sounds great! Any idea what we'll have?" I called out.

"Probably something Cat likes honestly."

_Sounds like Mom and Dad already planned on having Cat and I for dinner Thursday. _

"Do I have to get everything out today?" I asked my dad as I made my way to the door.

"No, just don't leave stuff here for more than like 2 weeks. After that it's mine."

"Ok captain." I said, quickly stepping outside the office and making a break for it.

I hope this isn't some mean joke.

I get to my car as fast as I can and get the hell out of the parking garage, only pausing to put my PearPhone on shuffle.

"Let me see you put your hearts up…"

Ooh! I forgot this was on here! The only recording of Cat's song before she went to Methodist. It's a bit rough, but still is amazing.

I sometimes forget how strong her voice is. Until the bass of my car makes the whole damn thing shake after she hits a high note.

…

Like it just did.

_Yes! Traffic has cleared out a bit!_

I speed up and am closing in on home in 10 minutes.

"Sing it with me if you're with me all you boys and girls…"

I remember she burst out into derisive laughter after coming up with that.

"_What? What's so funny? It's a good line!" I asked her as she crawled on the floor, laughing like a madman._

"_It's so rhymey!" She gasped._

"_Ok then." I placidly said, as she continued to laugh her head off._

Repeat…

…

…

Repeat…

…

And now I'm pulling into my driveway.

Where a familiar looking Cadillac is parked in my customary spot…

_She sure acclimates herself pretty quick._

I'm glad my "work" day was less than 30 minutes. Now I get to go home to Cat, which is all I want to do today.

I opened the door and—

"Hello?" She called out suddenly, sounding scared.

I quietly shut the door and opened my mouth to respond when she suddenly crept into the room, holding a baseball bat.

"I said who are—Robbie!" She quickly changed her tune, dropped the bat and tackled me into a hug.

"Surprise." I said as I happily hugged her back.

_Now this is more like it._

"Don't you have to work or something? Am I distracting you?" She quickly backtracked, even letting go of me.

"No, my dad let me go. I was only working for him as a way to fill the time until you got out." I said, smiling as Cat nervously put her hair in her mouth and started chewing on it.

"Oh. So you don't have to go work for him anymore?"

"Nope. And you aren't distracting me. I was going to invite you after I got here, but obviously you beat me here so…"

"Did I come too early?" She squeaked, looking very out of her element, putting her brown hair back into her mouth.

"No Cat…you're fine. You can come anytime you want. What's mine is yours sweetie. I want you to be comfortable and happy."

_Now would probably be a good time to ask about the hair. I miss the red hair._

Spices up my life.

But I can't just throw it out there so recklessly with her evidently worried about being here too quick.

"So you don't mind me being here so early?" She backtracked again, literally this time as well, shuffling slowly into the kitchen.

"No! Want to know a secret?" I offered, lowering my voice.

"Sure! It's not bad is it?" She jumped back towards me, looking anxious.

"No. I actually considered not going and inviting you to a movie day today."

It's not far from the truth. But I know I shouldn't say 'I want to do nothing but hangout with you all day' so bluntly.

She's still recovering. And Cat is reminding me of the paranoid girl I see looking back with how nervous she is.

"Aww! Robbie!" She sprung at me and tackled me into another hug. "Thank you…but you should go work and get money instead of be lazy with me. We can always meet up after you work."

"You know I don't work for my dad anymore?" I threw out there. I think she forgot about that small detail.

"Yeah, I remember. But just for future reference. We can always meet up later."

"I shall remember that. Now if you'll excuse me I'd like to change into more comfortable clothes…" I said, referring to the slacks and collared shirt that now are wrinkled thanks in no small part to Cat attacking me with hugs, but I can always iron them. Or send them to the cleaners.

"Sure! Are you hungry?" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah, whatcha thinking of?" I smiled at her.

"Omelets, toast and bacon."

Damn.

I don't have eggs, bacon or stuff for omelets.

_Wait. There's an easy solution to this._

"Oh. Well, I don't have anything for that stuff, but if you really want them I can give you my credit card and you can dash to the store if you want." I offered, piecemailing my idea together.

"That's great! But I already have your credit card…" She said, grabbing her purse seemingly from nowhere, sticking her head inside, coming up with her billfold, and whipping out my old credit card.

This is going to hurt her.

A reminder of how I had to do some things out of necessity while she was in there.

How things changed.

"Uhh…that card doesn't work anymore."

I couldn't keep eye contact and looked at the tile of the kitchen at Cat's feet.

"What? What do you mean?" She asked quietly.

"I…they made me get a new card when you were at Methodist. I needed it back a few days afterward and tried to get it from them, but since you had it, they claimed it was your property and held onto it."

I looked back up to Cat in tears. Blinking rapidly and looking positively miserable.

"Oh. Can I have the new credit card so I can go get the stuff then?"

"Of course…" I said, pulling my wallet out of my pocket, grabbing the new card and handing it to her.

"Thanks…I guess I'll get going then." She said flatly, starting towards the door.

I quickly pulled her into a hug.

"Drive safe ok?" I whispered into her ear.

She nodded and hugged me back.

Then…I did something impulsive. And I probably shouldn't have.

I lightly kissed her cheek and ruffled her hair.

"See you when you get back then…"

She let go of me and walked out the door.

Well…

I guess I should go take another shower.

I plodded my way upstairs and soon found myself chastising myself for kissing her.

After all, WHAT WAS I THINKING? She's over here worried about coming over too fast, when that's really not an issue at all. Not only did I not alleviate that concern, but just amplified my problem.

Geez, for a smart guy I can do some amazingly dumb things.

_Crap! I forgot to turn up the heat before getting in the shower. Cold, cold, cold, cold!_

I dress as quickly as humanly possible, then—

"Thump."

Cat's back.

I made my way downstairs barefoot and attempted to sneak up on her.

Before she turned around, grocery bag in hand and saw me.

"Haha! You'rrre busted!" She celebrated, going into a little dance.

"What are you doing?" I asked, as she suddenly stopped, mid move.

"Shuffling. You've never seen this before?"

"No, no I have not…" I trailed off, as Cat resumed…shuffling?

"You need to get out more."

"Haha, very funny. Especially from you Ms. Valentine. Now may I help?"

_Crap._

_What am I thinking? Making a joke about her being inside for so long right afterward?_

I AM SO STUPID?

"Yeah, if you want you can get out a cutting board and start chopping the omelet stuff they put in that bag." She said, pointing to a bag on the table.

"They put the omelet stuff in one bag?" I asked, surprised.

Wouldn't they just put it in different bags?

"Yeah."

"How'd they do that?"

"I knew the bagboy there. He asked me out when…a while back. Plus it's all about the order you put stuff on the conveyor belt." She shrugged, opening the fridge as I grabbed the cutting board.

"Sorry for peppering you with all of these questions, but how'd you know that?" I asked.

"Your mom didn't teach you that you can group stuff together when you check out so when you go home unloading everything it is easy?"

"No, I never shopped with my mom. My sister didn't let me." I said, chopping a green pepper.

"Stupid Kimberly…anyway yeah. It really works. See? I'm already done!"

What? No way…

_Yeah way…_

"You have to be magic or something…you had a ton of stuff!" I exclaimed as Cat grabbed the cheese grater and like 4 different cheeses.

"Nope, just Cat. Thank you though." She smiled at me.

From my angle it seems like she's floating off the ground she's so happy.

The next few minutes we silently prepped the omelet stuff.

Suddenly—

"I'm an idiot…" Cat said suddenly said, and laid her head on my empty cutting board.

"Explain…" I said, as she lifted her head.

"I forgot to put the bacon in…"

Oh…

That adds 30 minutes from now until we eat.

"Oh, that's fine. We can put in the bacon and like wait around for 30 or so minutes."

"You're not mad? I thought you were hungry." She said, looking up at me.

"Why would I be mad if I was hungry?" I asked her.

"I don't know…"

"I don't know either." I said, reaching down and pulling out the bacon cooker.

"30 minutes starting…now." Cat said, pressing a button on her phone as I turned on the stove, with the bacon now inside.

"That has to be the best invention ever." I said, making my way out of the kitchen.

"Agreed. So what now?" Cat asked, following me.

"Follow me. I want to ask you something." I told her, and started up the stairs.

"Ok…"

We walked into my room and I collapsed onto my folded sheets.

"Why are we here?"

"I wanted to ask you a couple of things. That is, if you don't mind." I said, leaving her with an escape route if she so chose.

"I don't mind Robbie. Why here though?"

"Why not here? It's comfy and I want you to relax a bit. You seem nervous."

"I…I don't want to upset you or anything Robbie. I missed you so so much and I want to be around you 24/7…but not be clingy at the same time."

There we have it.

That's why she's nervous.

"Cat, don't worry ok? It takes a lot for you to get me mad. Relax…" I said softly, grabbing her shoulders and rubbing her pulse points.

"Ok…" She whispered, sounding happy.

"So, why'd you want to come here?" I asked after a moment of massaging her.

"It sounds silly, but I missed being here. I missed the studio and your kitchen and your bed and your smell…I thought you had to work, and I was going to stop by and reacclimate myself."

"Is that it?" I asked. I was expecting something deeper.

"Well…there is something else, but it's embarrassing."

"Cat. No it won't be. I know you so well that it's hard to embarrass yourself anymore."

"Fine…I missed your smell. I was going to borrow like a shirt or something."

"You missed my smell?" I asked.

Now that is a surprise.

"Yeah…it's nice. And it reminds me why I missed you so much."

"Well then…" I let go of her and got to my feet. I made my way into my closet and grabbed two or three hangers with shirts on them.

It's not like I need them. I have way too many and if she wants my smell…I should help her out.

"Here. For you." I smiled, holding out the hangers for her.

She turned, saw the hangers and blushed madly.

"No, Robbie you don't have to do this…"

"I don't want you to miss me Cat. Or my smell since you like it so much. It's not like I can wear ALL of my clothes. I have way too much." I admitted.

She took the hangers from me and put them next to my dresser.

"You're the best." She sighed, barely inching herself closer to me.

"You know, if you want to sit next to me, you can."

Boom. Cat in my lap.

Yes, literally.

"Any more questions captain inquisitive?" She smirked.

"Inquisitive?" I asked her, fingering her hair lightly. "Where'd you come up with that?"

"I got bored and read the dictionary."

"Read? Can you read the dictionary?" I asked

"Well, not read…" She replied, putting air quotes around 'read'. "But you can look it over."

"You must have been bored."

"You have no idea Robbie. It was miserable."

"Hey Cat, I think I owe you an apology."

_Crap! Here goes nothing._

"Huh?" She turned around, basically smothering me.

"I think I need to apologize for not visiting you. I wanted to…but they were ridiculously strict and every time I tried to get a meeting with you just to say hi…some administrator stopped me. I understand if you're mad at me."

Cat quickly hugged me tightly. "Oh Robbie…you don't have to say sorry. I knew they didn't want you to talk to me. I'm not mad at all."

_Wait…_

"Wait…you what? You…knew about how tight they kept everything?" I asked.

Wow…

Chalk this under "Never underestimate Cat Valentine."

"Yeah…there was one time that Back gave me a journal to write down what goes on there, and they took it away from me in a panic, thinking you had slipped a note to me in there."

"Really? Wow…stupid people. Didn't they know how good a job their front office did of keeping me out?" I grumbled, hugging her.

"Apparently not." She mumbled into my chest.

Then she leaned a little too hard into my chest and sent both of us onto my bed.

Her on top of me.

"Oops, sorry…" She said quickly, crawling off of me and helping me up.

"It's ok. Hey, any particular reason why your hair is back to brown?" I asked as we both sat back on the edge of my bed.

She sighed heavily and snuggled back towards me. "Yeah…the stupid warden thought my hair was rebellious and threatened to cut off visitors for a week unless I change it back to brown. Do you want it to stay this way?"

"What do you think?" I shot back at her, giving her a slight smirk.

She looked back to me and started giggling. "Yay. I was thinking about heading over to Sunset and getting it changed back."

"Awesome. And keep the credit card by the way. I remember last time you said that it was expensive when you got it redone."

"But—"

"But nothing. I'll get it back after you're my red haired best friend again ok?"

I saw doubt in her eyes and her brain was obviously moving about 100 mph, thinking of a way to talk me out of it.

"And don't be afraid that I won't get it back ok? You are not going back to that hellhole ok? You are perfectly fine. You were under a lot of stress, and you can tie a lot of it to me in some form on fashion and I plan on repaying you for that because I truly am sorry Cat." I said, as tears involuntarily sprung to my eyes.

I really didn't mean to cry.

"I know that with finals and our lingering awkwardness and me not telling you about Laken and you somehow finding out…I sent you there or at least I didn't make matters any better. But that will not happen again ok? You are the top priority in my life. And you will NOT go back to Methodist. Ok?"

"Ok…I have one question." She squeaked out, pulling herself into my arms again.

"Shoot."

"Am I not your angel anymore? You said best friend this time." She said, sounding on the verge of tears again.

_Crap…I did say that._

"Of course you are my angel Cat. Nobody can take that away. As silly as it sounds, I want to get you back to normalcy and me toning down my affection for you is part of that."

"Oh…" She mumbled.

SLAM!

In a matter of seconds Cat ran downstairs and I sprung to the window.

"They're here!" I yelled down to her, following her to the kitchen.

I reached the kitchen very fast, and just in time to see Cat lift the bacon cooker out of the oven.

"Bacon's done—"

The sound of the door interrupted her.

"ROBBIE!" Jade called out, as everyone else evidently filed in. "I know you're here! Your dad called me and said you no longer worked for him!"

Suddenly Cat swatted me.

"Ow!" I yelped.

"You said he let you go! He DID fire you didn't he!" She hissed at me.

"I told you, he remembered that working for him was temporary!" I snapped back.

"Oh, so you two are already fighting I see." Jade droned flatly.

"AAH!" Cat and I both yelled, jumping out of our skins.

"Someone's paranoid…" Tori smirked as I turned and saw her, Jade, Beck and Andre standing behind the countertop.

"No, we were cooking and you scared us."

"Yeah!" Cat added behind me.

"Oooh! What are we cooking?" Andre asked, peeking towards the stove.

"Breakfast." Cat said, as I moved back to the omelet ingredients.

I have been waiting for another omelet since I finished the last one. Not patiently mind you.

"What kind of breakfast?" Beck asked, as someone stepped onto the stone floor of the kitchen.

"Bacon and omelets." Cat supplied, emptying the bacon pan as I filled my bowl with ingredients.

"Healthy." Jade quipped.

"No, amazing." I shot back at her.

"When did you learn to make omelets Rob?" Tori asked, as Cat bent down and got some kind oil out of a cabinet.

"Not me. Cat." I said, pointing down at her directly below me.

"What?" Beck, Tori and Andre yelped.

"Cat doesn't make omelets." Jade said matter of factly.

"Yeah I do." She said, popping up inches from my body.

"Since when?" Beck asked.

"Since I got out of the hospital!"

Everyone was silent as Cat moved around me and grabbed two pans similar to the ones she used at her house.

"Really?" Andre asked.

"Can I have one?" Beck asked quickly.

"Sure, everyone can have one. You just have to cut you own ingredients. Robbie got enough for the two of us."

"Will you cook it?" Tori called out.

"No, I'll ask Alton Brown to cook it." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Who?" Andre asked, definitely confused.

"Nobody, of course I'll cook it."

"Great." Beck said, clapping his hands together.

"How'd you find out about this Robbie?" Jade asked me, pulling off a jacket she had on.

Even though it's like in the 80's.

"Oh, I uh…had breakfast with Cat on Saturday."

I told everyone that I had seen Cat. I just neglected to mention the fact that I spent the whole weekend with her, ate breakfast with her on Saturday, and bought a new phone.

All with her.

"Really now? Anything _else_ you'd like to fess up?" Jade pressed, looking like she's playing with me.

But still, it's kind of scary.

"Nope…"

"Same as last time Robbie?" Cat asked over her shoulder as she threw the oil into the pan and the kitchen was filled with sizzling.

"Yeah."

I briefly saw Cat turn around and again grab a few pieces of ham and throw them into my bowl.

"I'm glad you have gas Robbie. This would be a lot harder if it was electric." She grumbled, throwing the eggs in.

"Why?" I asked, as everyone peered around me and watched Cat.

"Gas cooks more evenly. Plus it's easier to control."

"Is that in general? Because every time I see someone cook an omelet they're using gas."

"In general, but you have to cook a omelet on gas. You can't on electric." She said, stirring everything in.

"Did you see her cook everything last time?" Tori asked, leaning over my shoulder.

"Well, she was already cooking the bacon when I got there."

"I meant the omelet."

"Oh, yeah."

"WHOA!" Everyone yelled as she flawlessly flipped my omelet over.

"Nice job Cat!" Beck said as Andre clapped.

"Thanks…" She said.

"When DID you learn to do this again?" Andre asked.

"Methodist had little seminars to keep us busy when we weren't in therapy." Cat replied, flipping the other omelet and grabbing two plates.

"Here Robbie. Can you wait on me please?" She asked sweetly as she handed me my plate.

_I knew those things would come in handy!_

I don't know the term for them, but you put it over your plate to keep it warm. It's not a heat lamp. It's a metal sphere.

"Sure sunshine…" I said, taking our plates over to the table and grabbing the…spheres.

"Who's next!" Cat asked excitedly.

Beck, Tori, Andre and Jade all said "Me!" at the same time.

Sending her into a fit of giggles.

She then proceeded to execute 4 more omelets perfectly.

_And now she's just showing off._

"Can I sit next to you?" She asked, as everyone else was moving towards the table.

"Sure, you don't have to ask…" I said.

By the time she had moved next to me, everyone else has already started eating.

"This is awesome Cat. Thank you." Beck smiled at her, as Andre gave her a thumbs up since his mouth was full. Same with the girls.

On a impulse, I grabbed her shoulder and whispered "I think they like it." Into her ear.

"Hehe. Yeah." She smiled.

I think she's floating again.


	4. Temperance

(A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry this is so late. I've actually had this done since the 23rd, but forgot to bring my flash drive to my grandparents' house and didn't realize that their internet connection doesn't work on my laptop for reasons unknown. Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas. I plan on buying a flash drive very soon and plan on updating chapter 5 quickly. I appreciate all the kind thoughts and reviews and everyone just reading as well. Hope you enjoy it.)

"Boom…"

I open my eyes to a depressing dark grey filtering thru my blinds by my window.

_Great…is it raining?_

As if on cue, a flash of lightning answered my question.

_I guess so._

"Boom…"

I hate rainy days. They always sap my will for doing anything remotely productive. Luckily for me, Jade is supposed to come over and we're playing Modern Warfare 3 all day. Which should be fun.

I slowly sit up and try to wake up. This is one of those mornings that all you want to do is go back to sleep. But I should probably shower before Jade comes over. And make a quick—

My door slowly swung forward and a wooden food tray came into view, along with a red haired, apron clad girl.

_Cat._

"Well good morning." I smirked. Cat quickly looked up, and her face fell.

"Hi!" She said, voice still perky.

"Why so sad all of a sudden?" I asked.

"Oh, um, I was hoping that you still were asleep like you were earlier. So I could surprise you."

"This is still a surprise you know, and a very nice one at that." I smiled as Cat stood a foot or two to my right.

"Yay." She smiled, and placed the tray, full of food onto my lap.

"Careful, it's hot."

Bacon, toast and another omelet.

"Wow, thanks Cat…" I said, motioning for her to come closer so I could hug her.

She however, missed it. "What?"

"Come over here so I can thank you." I said matter of factly.

"You don't have to do that."

"Cat. C'mere…"

She moved within my grasp and I quickly hugged her.

"Now, I see two forks, is this omelet for two?" I said, releasing her and looking back to my plate.

"Oh! I didn't mean to put two forks. My bad." She said, snatching the extra fork and blushing madly.

"It's ok, you can have some if you want."

"That does sound good. I'm really not hungry for my own." She said, looking down at my plate.

"Well then I have no problem sharing."

She wasted no time in spearing a bite and popping it into her mouth.

"You picked all of my ingredients." I said, surprised.

"Duh. It was meant for you silly."

"How'd you know what they were?"

"I watched you make yours last time."

"Did you throw the extra ham in?" I teased.

She again went pink in her cheeks. "Of course."

We both spent the next couple of minutes dueling over the omelet.

"Boom."

Cat instinctively sidled closer to me and snatched half a piece of bacon.

"So what brings you here?" I asked.

"Nothing really…just bored. Thinking about some music stuff." She said, laying her head on my shoulder.

"Not the storm?"

I swear, nature is reading my script. Lightning just flashed outside the window.

"No. It's been storming ever since I got up and came here."

"When was that?" I asked, putting the empty plate and tray on the pillow beside me.

"Uhh…6? Yeah…I think 6." She said, scooting closer.

She is so close I can smell her shampoo. Which for today is Apple Mango Tango. But I'm not really paying attention to that. Two days ago, the day Beck and everyone spent the day with us and the last time I saw her, Cat's hair was brown.

Today, it's the soft red that I love.

I don't know what it is about the color…I mean, she's beautiful with brown hair, don't get me wrong. But…she just looks so much better with red hair.

"I like the hair." I smiled, leaning my head onto hers.

"Thanks."

"_Oooh! Just like a cupcake."_

Why do I want to bite Cat's hair like Sikowitz?

And why do I suddenly want Red Velvet Cupcakes?

I quickly seize the moment and nibbled on Cat's hair. Unfortunately it doesn't taste anything like a cupcake.

She giggled quickly and whipped around to face me. "Why?"

"I remembered Sikowitz biting your hair last time you had it redone and wanted to see if it was true."

"That it tastes like a cupcake?" She asked. I nodded.

She shook her head and laid her head on my shoulder.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"No idea, that's up to you." I smirked at her. She simply sighed.

"Well, what do we have here?"

"AAH!" Cat and I both yelled simultaneously. Cat jumped straight into my arms and we fell back onto my bed.

I regained my focus quickly and looked up to see Jade, leaning on the doorframe and smirking.

"Jade?" I asked, not asking really, more looking for confirmation that it was her.

"You know, you guys are sneaking around, and whenever someone approaches you jump and scream." She rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Jade!" Cat said reproachfully, pushing herself off of me.

"Hey, I scheduled today with Robbie. Don't look at me."

The moment the words came out of her mouth Cat's whole demeanor changed. Her shoulders went rigid, and I could tell even from a angle off to the side that her eyes had gone glassy.

I moved to get a better look at her, and I briefly saw Jade take half a step forward.

By the time I really got to look at her tears were already falling and she's shifting herself away from me and Jade and towards the discarded breakfast tray.

"Cat?" Jade croaked out, sounding unsure.

_JADE! I TOLD YOU! I told you the other day that you have to watch what you say about me in front of her! She isn't 100% yet._

Cat didn't respond to Jade, and is sniffling louder than ever. Thinking fast and ignoring Jade, I pull her into my arms softly.

"Hey…you're fine sweetie. You don't have to go anywhere if you do not want to ok?"

She kind of reacted, linking her arms around me. I felt Jade back off in front of me.

"She didn't mean it to be mean or anything like that. You are beautiful and amazing and are always welcome anywhere I am ok?"

"Ok." She whispered back, scratching my lower back.

I let go of her and her hands flew to her eyes. Her light mascara is wrecked.

"I'll be right back, excuse me…" Cat mumbled, darting into my bathroom.

I looked to Jade, where she at least looked a little regretful.

"You didn't say she was she easy to set off." She said, sounding worried and surprised.

I simply glared at her. "So? Cat's always been a little more emotional than the rest of us. It fits the mold."

"True…has she done that before?"

"Done that? Really Jade? It kind sounds like you want to chuck her back to Methodist or something." I snap, anger pooling over.

She is not going back. I will take her in myself and let her live with me, banning visitors if I have to.

I'm dead serious.

"No! I want her to stay out of Methodist as much as you do Robbie. I really do." She backtracked.

"Then what did you mean?"

"The reaction."

"Not since she got out, no."

_And if you push me for information, I will snap again._

She did do this before she went to Methodist. I can think of 3 or 4 instances right off the top of my head.

"You mad at me?" She asked.

"No, just please play nice with her. When I say she isn't back yet, that is EXACTLY what I mean Jade."

"Ok, I get it now. So what's the plan for today?" She eagerly switched topics.

"I'd like to shower, then play a bit and then get lunch."

"Sounds like a plan." She said.

"Gloomy day outside?" I asked, pointing to my window as I stepped out of my bed and darting back under the covers.

The temperature dropped like 30 degrees I think.

"What? Cold?" She asked quickly.

"Freezing, did this come with the rain?" I said, pulling the covers closer to me.

"Yeah, this is like winter stuff. In May, which is really weird."

"It's still cold outside?" Cat asked. I glanced towards her to see her stepping out of the bathroom.

"Yeah."

"Hey Cat? Can you bump up the heat a bit please?" I asked nicely.

"Sure." She smiled, shuffling off.

A moment later she came back into view and Jade looked over my bed, and her eyes found the tray.

"Breakfast in bed?"

"Don't ask me, ask her." I deflected, pointing to Cat.

She seemed to bounce back instantaneously, smiling happily and nodding.

"Oh really? I want to ask a few things, but I think we should let Robbie shower in peace first." Jade said, grabbing the tray and getting to her feet.

"Yeah, if you don't mind." I quipped, causing her to roll her eyes.

I quickly grabbed some comfy clothes that didn't look terrible and hop right in the shower.

I'm worried about Cat. Not about her mentally, but worried that the others won't take as much care as I will in word choice. I've been around snippets with everyone around, and that stuff avoids the two of us for the most part, but I'm worried that they won't be able to calm her down.

It's no fault of her own, some part of me thinks that it's a defense mechanism. For what, I have no idea. But if she relapses, I am wasting no time and will lay into everyone, no matter who is at fault.

I neatly make my bed after drying off and getting dressed.

"Seems like there's always someone who disapproves. They'll judge us like they know about me and you…And the verdict will come from those with nothing else to do…The jury's out, but my choice is you."

I love this next part.

"Don't you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine, and life makes love look hard. The stakes are high, the water's rough…but this love is ours…"

I'm so busy jamming out that I don't realize that it's not actually in the room with me. It's down in the living room. I read that you sleep better when your phone is out of the room, so I've been leaving it downstairs and actually sleeping a little better.

However, I dash to the stairs to try and get it before I miss whoever is calling, but I promptly slip on the first step.

And tumble the whole way down.

I barely hear Jade's conversational voice and Cat cry out before I'm briefly airborne and something tackles me, preventing me from hitting the wood floor really hard.

I'm glad whoever did because that would have hurt quite a bit. Probably would have wrecked my day.

I roll off whoever it is just as Jade asks "Did you try to get the phone?"

So it wasn't Jade that caught me. Her voice was above me.

I look back to Cat picking herself off the floor and parting her hair to the side.

"Yeah, and failed pretty bad." I sigh, turning to Cat.

"Thanks Cat."

She seems pretty pleased and hugs me softly. "No problem. Just don't try it again."

"Who was it?" I asked after we separated.

"IMG. They said they'd call back and leave a message. They couldn't talk to me, they were looking for you."

"Ok then." I said. A moment later my voicemail ringtone goes off and I quickly dial it back.

"Mr. Shapiro, this is Judy from IMG records? We received information that said Cat Valentine was out of the hospital now? We'd like to have a meeting with the two of you this Friday at 4 PM. Please call if it is not possible for you to make this otherwise we expect you there. Thank you and have a nice day."

_Great._

There goes all hope for a normal week. Why tomorrow I wonder?

Weird. Usually they let me schedule. Oh well, no use worrying about it.

I put the phone back in my pocket and briefly see Cat open her mouth to speak, but by then I'm already speaking.

"That was IMG. They want to see us tomorrow at 4 in Santa Barbara. Sorry, I cut you off Cat, what were you about to say?"

"That was what I was going to ask." She mumbled, as Jade rolled her eyes, setting up the Xbox behind her.

I moved and grabbed a wireless controller. Cat came and sat close to me, so close our arms are touching.

"What are you guys playing?"

"Call of Duty." Jade said, as the opening credits began with gunshots.

"Again? Geez, you guys are violent…"


	5. Mental Miscue

This weather sure is weird.

It's gray and gloomy again, with temps back in the 40's for the drive down to Santa Barbara.

Again, Cat let me borrow the SUV for the drive. Unlike all the recent trips, Cat is making me get a hotel room in Santa Barbara because she's afraid I'll fall asleep while driving back. Which has never happened or even gotten close to happening! But…I'm appeasing her just this once.

No sense in starting an argument over something trivial.

"Robbie?"

"Yeah sunshine? What's up?"

"How's it going?"

I look over to see her smiling at me while hunched over.

"Good."

"How's the drive?" She smiled again.

"Nothing really to write home about…"

_I wonder why she's trying to start a conversation._

Probably because she has been asleep for a majority of the drive and feels like I should have some company.

That's nice of her.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked her.

"I, uh…slept ok." She stuttered out, looking away and going pink.

"You have bed head." I smirked.

It's true. Her bangs are normal, but after about a inch hair starts sticking out in random and hilarious directions.

She quickly pulled down the mirror and laughed.

"Hehe, Robbie!" She smiled, tilting her head towards me and laughing.

"Looks good." I smiled.

_Finally, off this stupid highway._

I signaled over 2 lanes and hit the off ramp. I barely saw Cat move for her purse.

"No no no. I want a picture."

"Ok…" She said, sounding like she didn't want it but was giving me this one.

I glanced over to her rolling her eyes, albeit with a smile.

I pulled into a local convenience store chain, Pop & Shop I think it's called, and grabbed my phone out of the side.

As soon as I got the camera ready, Cat was already smiling happily, hair looking like it was full of static.

I laughed.

"Click."

Cat's smiling face with crazy hair flashed onto the screen.

"Ok…" I said, pressing the home button and flashing back to my background of a old picture of Cat and I, laughing on the beach.

"Wait!" Cat said suddenly, reaching for my phone.

"Ok…"

"C'mere. I want one with you please." She looked at me, giving me her best puppy dog face.

"Sure."

I sidled over to her and got as close as I could without messing up her pristine hair.

An _amazing_ smell wafted over me as I vaguely heard Cat say something and for the camera's flash to go off.

She quickly pulled my phone back.

"Perfect."

_What on earth is this smell?_

"Robbie?"

_This smell…_

It's safe to say I'm like intoxicated. This. Is. Amazing.

"What are you doing?"

_Hmm…_

Suddenly Cat had positioned herself in my lap.

"What's up buttercup?"

"Uh…you smell nice?" I stuttered out, slightly surprised by how relaxed she is.

Maybe I'm too paranoid about her mental state.

"Haha. Thanks. But really, what's wrong Robbie? I can help." She said simply, curling into my chest.

"Seriously Cat, it's your smell. It's…amazing honestly."

"Really now…you like it?" She asked, voice slightly deeper.

_Oh…_

_Uh oh._

No Robbie.

Don't…

Don't think that again.

"Yeah." I said, completely having lost my train of thought.

_God I want to kiss her._

NO!

"Well…thanks Robbie. I bought it the other day at…"

"At?" I asked.

"I'm not telling you."

"Oh…I see how it is." I said as she burst out into a big smile. "You want me to keep you around just for your perfume. Ah hah!"

"I'm your only source. Take it or leave it."

I grabbed her and pulled her as close as I could, causing her legs to come up to my waist and for her bra to hit me right in the chest.

"You're mine."

_Ok…that was probably too close._

She looked uncomfortable and scooted off of me.

"Sorry about that…I only meant it as a hug. Promise."

She looked at me, looking kind of nervous.

"Yeah…"

She climbed back into her seat and buckled up as I put my phone away and restarted the SUV.

"How much longer?"

"5 minutes max." I said, pulling right onto a green light.

"Make that 3."

Cat giggled. "Thank you green light."

Maybe two minutes later Cat and I pulled into the parking lot. I swear it took at least as long from the convenience store to this spot for Cat to comb her hair.

Finally, she put the brush back into the dash and closed it.

"Ready superstar?" I smiled, stepping out.

"So ready."

She seemed to get more pep in her step as we got closer to the door.

"Hello, Mr. Shapiro?" A woman asked the moment we got in the door.

"Hi, I'm Robbie." I smiled, extending my hand.

Interestingly, she remained in her seat and didn't move.

_New secretary._

Needs to learn her manners.

"The board is ready to see you in A3." She said, pointing to the sign that said 'Conference Rooms A&B.'

Cat and I quickly walked into A3, where I wasn't surprised to find the room full of suited men and one woman.

Cat complained about sexist hiring practices last time, I hope I don't get a re-run.

"Hello Ms. Valentine and Mr. Shapiro, please take a seat." The man at the head of the table said briskly.

We both sat.

"Ok, let's not waste any time here, we're all busy people. Now we understand that Cat, you were in Methodist Mental Facility for a grand total of 5 months?"

"Yes sir." She said quickly.

"Did you work on any music or material while in Methodist?"

"No sir, I wasn't allowed—"

"Simple yes or no Ms. Valentine will suffice." Another man said briskly.

"And what was the diagnosis?"

"Too much stress sir." I replied.

Many of the people turned to me.

"He was asking her Mr. Shapiro."

"She doesn't know the information sir." I bluntly replied.

Their inquiries are pissing me off. I gave them every update I could thru Jade and Tori. They said they were pleased.

"Why not?"

"I asked her whether she wanted to review the information Methodist gave me when she got out and she declined."

"Ok then, that's enough questions for you Cat, now Mr. Shapiro, how long has she been out?"

"6 days sir."

Several people looked impressed, but not the senior members. At least I think they are senior members. They are older than everyone else.

"And have you worked on any music?"

"No, we have not."

"Care to explain why?"

"Well, I was thinking about reorienting her gradually back into things, not throwing her back into 18 hours a day of work that didn't help her stress back in the winter sir."

"Ok then, sounds reasonable enough. Did you bring her medical records with you?"

"No…I didn't know we were going to discuss her medicals. Your secretary said this was about her timeline for her music."

"So that's a no on the medical records?"

"Yes sir."

Someone in the back piped up. "I'm confused, did you bring them or not?"

"No, I did not."

"Ok, on to business of the day then. We have an announcement for both of you."

"Ok…"

Cat reached for my hand and missed.

I felt the air brush over the top of my hand.

"We're no longer interested in working with Cat and are terminating her contract, effective immediately."

WHAT!

I glanced over to Cat, and she slowly tensed up. Not fully, to the point she got with Jade, but not at all relaxed.

"Why?" I demanded, not holding back my disgust and anger.

"We believe Ms. Valentine is unable to complete the duties of a professional singer mentally and no longer have faith in her."

I glanced back to Cat to see tears slowly cascading down her face.

"See? She is mentally unstable." Someone said.

"No. Not at all. She's crying because you just shattered her dreams! I can't blame her! How would you feel?"

"Now onto the terms of her buyout, we're prepared to offer $75,000—"

"Fine. Whatever." I snapped, grabbing Cat's hand as her tears continued.

"I don't care." She croaked out.

"We are relinquishing all intellectual property to Ms. Valentine, including songs and lyrics."

"Ok." I brushed it off, getting to my feet.

"Sir, we have a few more property matters to discuss—"

"No, we don't. Legally, that stuff is ours and ours only. Are we done?" I roughly said as Cat got to her feet.

"I guess so. Your buyout will be in your account tomorrow."

"Fine." I said, wasting no more time and holding the door open for Cat, and following her out as fast as I could.

The moment the door closed she grabbed my hand. I can still see tears falling.

"It's ok baby…this isn't your fault."

"Yeah it is." She snapped.

"Cat, they're being stupid." I quickly said.

"I know that." She said shakily, pushing open the last door and allowing the cold air to hit us right in the face.

We quickly got to the SUV and pulled out.

"You don't have to hold a poker face Cat, it's fine if you cry."

Slowly, she put her head in her hands and maybe 30 seconds later I heard a sob.

Wow…

Cat got fired.

I…can't believe it.

I was expecting a revised timeline, maybe a pay cut and a tight schedule to get out a single. That wouldn't have been hard, but…

Not this. Not this at all.

Cat's sobs continued to fill the Cabin and I gently rubbed her back at the first stop light. After a few seconds she crawled back into the second row of seats, grabbed a blanket from somewhere and curled up, obstructing her face.

_Guess she didn't like that._

I tried. I don't know what to do really. I've never been fired before. This was her dream.

And it just got shattered.

Wow.

_Guess I better tell the others._

At the next light, I pulled out my phone.

"Guys, big news. IMG fired Cat. Said she couldn't handle being a pro singer."

A few minutes later I pulled into the hotel and left my phone inside as I checked in and got the keys. I got us each a room for decency's sake.

Right after I got back in—

"Can I have my key?" Cat asked, in a throaty voice.

"Sure…" I pulled out her key and handed it to her outstretched hand. I can't see her face.

"We're here." I said a moment later.

She got out on my side, still holding the blanket. "Can you grab my stuff later?"

"Of course."

She seemed relieved and hugged me half heartedly.

Then she unlocked her room and disappeared.

Buzz Buzz.

6 new messages.

"I'm gonna take a nap. I don't feel like doing anything Robbie." – Cat

"Fine by me sunshine. I understand completely. I'm here if you want me." I replied.

I ran back out and grabbed both of our bags, both rollers and put them in my room and checked the other messages.

"Wow man. Give her a extra hug for me man." – Beck

"Unbelievable. They will hear about this from me. How's she holding up?"- Tori

"Hope she's handling it well." – Jade

That's weird. I would expect more out of her.

"I had a hunch they were up to something. Aarrrgh!" –Andre

"Hey, this isn't over." –Jade

This is making no sense. She definitely is.

"Sorry about the weird messages, my hands are cold. Call me when you get a chance." –Jade

I guess that makes a bit more sense.

I hold the home button and get Lucy, the pearPhone's digital assistant.

"Call Jade."

Lucy replied "Calling Jade West"

"Bzz…bzzz…"

_C'mon._

"Hello?" Jade's voice asked, as I heard the wind brush by the microphone.

"Hey Jadelynn!" I smiled.

At least I'm indoors.

"I hate you. You are brutal." She quipped.

"Hah! Now what's up?"

"This cold wind! I had the brilliant idea of going for a walk."

"Doesn't sound like a good idea." I replied.

"Hindsight's 20/20. Ooh! There's my car!" Jade breathed, then it sounded like she took off towards her car.

"Slam!"

"Better?" I joked.

"Not until I get the engine going!"

"Vroom…"

"Ahh…"

"Better?"

"Better." She replied.

"So, why did I call you?" I asked.

She never did explain.

"I have a idea on where Cat goes from here."

"What do you mean?" I quickly asked.

She's done. As bad as it sounds nobody will want to hire her after what has happened here. The combination of mental illness and her firing because of it will basically black ball her I'm afraid.

"She still has her Splashface page right?"

"Yeah…"

Where is she going with this?

"Great! You guys can cover other songs and keep writing your own stuff to pass the time until you drum up enough interest for a new deal from someone."

"Jade! You're a genius!" I cried out.

"Thank you…"

"No, seriously! I'm sure Cat doesn't want to stop writing and making songs and this will keep that going! You're a genius!"

"Thanks…is she around? How's she holding up?"

"She's taking a nap. Or crying. She starting bawling right after we got in the car and didn't stop until we got to our hotel room.

"Room?" She sounded intrigued.

"Rooms. My bad."

"Which is it?" She asked quickly.

"Rooms. I have one and she has one. Why do you care so much?" I asked curiously.

"Just curious."

"Suure." I said, calling her bluff.

Suddenly I heard a noise from her end.

"I'll talk to you later, I've got to answer that." She said quickly.

"Is it Beck?" I guessed. I hope it is. Nothing has happened between them since Cat went to Methodist. I hope they are going to get together again.

"No, bye." She said, sounding clipped and soon the dial tone filled my ear.

That was sure polite. I'd bet my Ferrari it was Beck.

Ok…maybe not the Ferrari. The Scion yes, but not my Ferrari. Point is I know Beck was on call waiting.

I turned and flopped onto my bed and flicked on the TV.

Nothing on…still nothing…geez. Santa Barbara has lousy TV options…

…

…

Suddenly I heard the sound of soft chewing to my left.

_Huh?_

I turned to the left and saw Cat, propped up on the two pillows on her side with a handful of popcorn and a bag of popcorn that looked full between us.

_I think I fell asleep._

"Hello there." I said softly. Cat jumped a little bit, but quickly recovered and smiled softly at me.

"Hi. I hope I didn't wake you up."

"Nah, where you get the popcorn?"

"It was complimentary. It isn't a brand name, but it's ok. I'm hungry." She rambled.

I didn't know how to respond so I didn't.

"You snored again."

"Did not." I snapped quickly, turning back to see her pink in the cheeks and smiling shyly.

"Yeah you did. I came in here and you were sawing logs."

"Whatever. You said you were hungry?"

"Uh huh."

"Good news for you, I am too. Do you have a preference?" I asked.

"Something yummy please."

I simply turned and put my head into my pillow.

"What?" She asked, sounding confused.

"What on earth am I going to do with you sweetie?" I asked in a light voice. I know that if I say it and sound angry, she's going to check out.

"Take me to eat please." She said kindly, lightly rubbing her nails over my lower back.

"What would you like to eat?"

"Can we have pizza today and Chuy's when we go home tomorrow?"

"Sure, can I tag along for Chuy's?" I joked.

"Of course! That's what I meant. Us to eat today and tomorrow."

"Sounds good. I'll check online to find us a good place."

"Ok. I'll continue to eat this popcorn." She smiled, popping a few pieces into her mouth.

"How much have you eaten already?" I asked, typing "Pizza in Santa Barbara" into Zaplook.

"This is my second bag."

"You sure you'll eat dinner?" I asked, as tons of choices popped up.

"Of course. You put pizza in front of me and it will disappear." She smirked.

"Ok, how about this sweetheart. This place has a 50's style setting, with over 50 toppings and 500 varieties of pizza. Rated 4 and ½ stars."

"Let's go!" She said quickly pulling me off the bed and towards the door.

It was dark the moment I stepped out the door.

"Gee, what time is it? How long did I sleep?" I asked aloud.

"I don't know when you fell asleep, but it's 8:30 now."

"Ok…you ready?" I asked, stepping into the SUV.

"Yep, you have the address?"

"I do now." I said, tapping my pearPhone.

We spent the next 20 minutes meandering around, ending up lost and on the wrong street before Cat looked up directions on her own phone and successfully navigated us to the pizza parlor.

"Thanks sunshine."

"No problem, maybe you should get the software updated." She suggested as we stepped inside.

"I updated it last week though."

"Hello, how many?" A attractive blonde asked, grabbing two menus.

"Two please." I replied, and she led us back to a table. I think we made the right call, this place is packed to the brim. Always a good sign.

"Drinks?"

"Lemonade please." Cat piped up.

"Strawberry or regular?"

Cat's eyes lit up and she quickly replied "Strawberry please."

"Ok, and for you sir?"

"I'll have the same."

"Would you like to order?"

Cat quickly reeled off our regular order, hers with extra cheese and the waitress quickly left.

"Hey Cat?" I began.

"Yeah Robbie? Hehe." She giggled, replying and smiled at me.

"I'd like to talk to you about something, but I need to go to the bathroom quickly…"

"Don't let me stop you."

Always the jokester. And a sharp tongue if she needs it. I remember how much it hurt to be yelled at by her. She knows how to hurt you and when she is mad, she really doesn't give a damn how much it hurts.

"I won't." I smiled.

As soon as I reemerged from the bathroom, my brain started screaming.

_Get AWAY from her you bastard. She's MINE!_

No, she's not mine. I know this.

Some guy, typical jock it looks like is sitting at our table, and he and Cat are talking nicely. Cat's laughing and seemingly enjoying herself.

I can't let it bother me. I can't. I certainly cannot let her see that I don't like her talking to another guy.

I slinked back towards the bathroom and fiddled around with my phone for FOREVER as the two of them kept on laughing and talking and on and on and on! Finally, after 5 minutes had elapsed, he wrote something down on a napkin and handed it to her, hugged her and walked away.

I waited for a minute or two more, then moved back to our table.

His cologne was easily detectable as I sat back down.

"Sorry I took so long." I immediately apologized, lying thru my teeth.

"No problem, I played on my phone the entire time. Does your stomach hurt or something?"

_Liar._

"Nah, just a bit upset."

"Oh, ok. What did you want to ask me about?" She asked as the waitress dropped off our pizza.

"I have a idea on what to do know about your music stuff."

She perked up. "Really? Keep talking." She said, mouth full.

"Well, it's not my idea. It's Jade's. She says we should keep writing and do a few covers of songs that you like and put it up on Splashface to drum up some excitement and support for a new record to sign you."

Her face lit up. I think she likes the idea. She's pretty dedicated to her page, doing Q&A's and random videos. She's dedicated to her fans.

"That sounds wonderful! We can keep going while we look for another record opportunity!" She squealed.

I nodded and took a bite of my pizza.

_Yuck._

4 ½ stars my ass. This tastes…flat. Maybe I'm used to the place down the road back home that we go to all the time, but this is not tasty.

I discreetly push my plate to the side as Cat started throwing out possible song ideas and wondering how long it would take for her to cover a song and edit it.

"Are you sure you're ok Robbie? You haven't really eaten anything." Cat said, sounding very concerned.

"Nah, I'm not really hungry." I said, taking out my credit card and nearly dumping my lemonade onto the receipt.

This isn't worth 40 bucks.

"Ok. You're lying down when we get back." She ordered.

"Cat, relax. I'll be fine."

"Maybe, but I'll feel better if you lie down. Please?"

Her eyes begged me to listen.

"Fine…" I'll give her this one.

She badgered me about my fake symptoms the whole way back to the hotel. The only reason she stopped is that I said I was going to take a shower.

And that's when I started to feel like I might actually throw up.

There's a new guy in Cat's life. I know, I know. She's hosed me way too many times, I shouldn't care.

But the fact is, I do. I care WAAY too much. For god's sake, this is the little girl that I still love. I can't seem to shake it.

She hasn't shown the slightest indication or interest to me. And now this new guy.

I need a drink. Something to make me forget her for a bit.

When I stepped out of the bathroom I could hear her laughing thru the door. I quickly grab my pearPod and crank up the volume so I can't hear her.

I don't know how long it was until Cat softly shook me, basically forcing me to take out my earbuds and turn to look at her.

"Yes?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight? I don't really want to be by myself tonight." She squeaked out, looking afraid.

"Sure." I replied, scooting over to make room for her before plugging back in and turning over.

I barely saw her look at me mournfully before lying down. She gingerly kissed my cheek and cuddled to me after she turned off the lights a moment later.

I didn't know I could hate someone before meeting him..


	6. Forbidden

Cat POV

A heavy sigh is about all I feel like doing after last night. I was kind of busy most of the time.

This has been an insane and unpredictable week. Robbie's mainly the one to blame for that. See, the day after IMG let me go the drive back to LA was unbearable. Robbie didn't talk much the entire time and I just wanted him to turn around. The second we got back to his place and he went into his house I sped out of his driveway and hurried back to Santa Barbara. He called me like 4 times, and even texted, saying he forgot something important in the SUV and needed it back. I haven't gotten it back to him; I've been ravished in kisses since I got to Alex's.

The only break from Alex's was a drive to LA to give him back what he needed. But when I got back to his house everything was locked, with different locks so I couldn't get in and both cars were gone.

(Flashback)

"_Hey, know where Robbie is? He said he needed something from my SUV." –Cat_

_He better be near. I could be having fun right now._

"_Yeah, he went to Acapulco out of NOWHERE. Any idea why?" –Jade_

_No. He's been pissed off ever since I got fired. But why would he go to Acapulco? Yeah it's depressing weather and all…but I need him!_

"_No. I'll ask him."_

_I quickly opened a new message to Robbie._

"_Hey, why are you in Acapulco? This isn't normal Robbie."_

_About a minute passed then, blink!_

"_So? You're fine. You've been out of Methodist for a week and are back to normal. You're a big girl and can take care of yourself perfectly fine. I can do whatever I want Cat." –Robbie._

_Whoa. He sounds furious about something._

"_I need you Robbie! You can't just randomly go to Acapulco without telling me! Why'd you even go? When are you coming back?"_

_He better tell me and this better be an amazing reason. Otherwise I'm going to slap him when he gets back here. He can't do this to me. I have stuff I could be doing._

"_Yeah, I can go anywhere I want whenever I want. What you say doesn't matter. I can do what I want when I want to ok? Don't you think I have to clear everything with you. You are not my mother."_

_He didn't answer my questions. _

"_When are you coming back! And why did you go?"_

He never responded. He didn't even tell anyone other than Jade. Apparently Robbie and I were supposed to go eat with his parents, and I had to tell them he was out of the country.

That was an awkward conversation. Until they said he hadn't had a vacation in a year.

I swear he went to Colorado right after I went to Methodist but apparently not. They said that they and Jade went, along with Beck and Tori, but Robbie stayed behind to try and backdoor a way to see me.

"Hey there beautiful." A deep voice said, punctuating it with a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Hi…" I said, turning around to be enveloped by his strong arms and perfect lips.

God I could kiss him all day.

Before I knew it he had effortlessly started a hot and heavy make out session that ended up with…yeah. Again.

I have been insanely horny ever since I got out. Not anymore. Alex has taken care of that desire. All we've done is stay in bed really, watching TV and movies and…yeah. You get the point.

"I'm going to take a shower…you're not going to leave are you?" He smiled at me.

"No, I'm too sore to move."

"We'll see about that…" He smirked, walking away.

I usually don't comment on this kind of thing, but god, his ass is perfect. He's perfect. Strong, muscular, and takes charge. And has sex like a god.

My god.

Thank god.

Suddenly my phone lights up. 1 new tweet from Robbie Shapiro.

"Drunk words are sober thoughts."

Very true. He always seems to have these interesting and true facts about life. He's very wise.

Buzz.

"Hey, speaking of disappearing, where are you?" –Jade

Fuck.

Sorry, I really need to watch my mouth. Alex used to play basketball and swears sometimes. And it kind of rubbed off on me. Sorry.

"I'm with a friend of mine in Santa Barbara."

Hopefully that doesn't sound too suspicious. I'm glad she's not here right now. I don't know what she'd be more mad about, the fact that I'm naked in a guy's bed texting her that or that I haven't known him a week or if he has a girlfriend.

I'm not worried, he is such a great and amazing guy. I thought Robbie was great, but Alex tops them all. Easily the best guy I have ever met. Personally or sexually.

_Yes! Water's off. Now get back in here boy! _

Geez, sorry. That's my bad. I'm really sorry, but my mind and body just want one thing and from him only.

"Care to elaborate?"- Jade

No.

"Not really. I'm safe. That's all that matters right?"

"Hey Cat, feel any better?" Alex rumbled, emerging from the bathroom with only a towel on.

"A little." I squeaked out, as he plopped next to me again.

"TV?"

"Sure." I smiled, moving to lie on his exposed stomach.

Robbie POV

Well at least the music fits the mood. Desperado by the Eagles. Good song overall, just a bit depressing.

"Here you go sir, Rum and coke." The bikini clad waitress smiled, dropping off my drink and taking away my last one.

It may be 1 PM, but I need it. I've needed the last 3 more though.

Only Cat Valentine can drive me straight to alcohol.

I've locked my phone and put the password to unlock it in my room so when I wake up later I won't regret any texts I might have sent off.

Which is why I tweeted " Drunk words are sober thoughts."

I have a hunch where she is. I saw her speed off in the direction of Santa Barbara the second I got inside the house. Not even thinking that all of her important information is in that SUV. If she gets carjacked or something her social, credit card numbers, everything will be gone. Her financial life will be screwed. Nothing anyone can do.

I pray I'm wrong, but I know I'm not. Jade told me she disappeared before I did, resurfacing once, asking me where I went. Then she pestered me and forced me to ignore her.

Great…go ahead and depress me more DJ. Face of Love – Carly Shay.

Cat's competition. She was already way behind starting off, before she decided to go to Methodist. Now all of her competition is even farther ahead. She has talent, but all the talent in the world can't help you if nobody will pay attention.

Ok, I'm pretty sure I'm gone now. I'm pissed off and can't be positive about anything. She is insanely talented and all but she's throwing herself at guys and is not helping her cause musically. If she really cared she'd be singing now. She even could be with her new fling. I don't care. I just want her to be successful.

For god's sake why do I even CARE anymore. She's…

I…I can't say it. It's true, but if I even think it she'll kill me for thinking it.

Aarrrgh! Love Story. T-Swift.

My personal singing and depression companion. Poor Taylor. Public humiliation romantically and she turns it into fame and amazing songs.

"I think she's with that guy you mentioned." –Jade.

Reminds me of that song by LMFAO.

"Shots, Shots, shots, shots shots shots, everybody!"

"K." I replied.

Damn her. She doesn't really care. I don't even know what she wants in life. Vegas maybe.

CH2 comes to mind.

If she realizes I really think about this stuff she'll kill me. That's not even the worst one. But how can I not think about it? Blink and it's a new guy!

I came to Acapulco after packing my bags and changing the locks to get away from her, tan a little and try to relax. Instead, I'm here lounging on the patio, having a rum and coke.

I blame her.

I can't believe my best friend is…a slut.

I hope the others don't think about her that way. Facts are facts though. I was one of 6 so far. The common theme? Getting her laid. Then discarded and on to the next one.

Ok, time to say by bye to my phone. I'm too dangerous to text.

Cat POV

"Thud!"

I collapse back onto my pillows breathing heavy, Alex draped all over me.

God, I could do this all day.

_I have been. For the last 3._

I glance over to my phone to see it lit up.

Finally, Jade responded.

"Yeah, it does. You could be in danger. You could be hurting Robbie again for all I know. Thanks to you I can't read him anymore. For all I know he could like you again! But you've hurt him to the point he's like tinted glass. I have no idea what he actually thinks, and I'm as close to him as anyone!"

Sent 20 minutes ago.

Maybe I'm the one that hasn't responded. She sent that and Alex consumed me again.

And I haven't replied.

I see Alex smiling at me over my phone screen, and I put the phone aside.

"Anything noteworthy?"

"No."

(A/N: Hope you guys aren't too upset with me. I'm kind of taking a risk with this chapter, as you probably can tell. Robbie releasing his true worries about Cat while in Mexico, drinking his sorrows away? While Cat is getting screwed senseless by her new boyfriend? Reviews, comments and criticism are always welcome. I have no problem answering why I did this. I did it because they need to grow up a little more. I'll even give you a hint to the next chapter. A lot of tears and a lot of yelling. See you guys later.)

PS: I FINALLY got my flash drive, so updates will be much more frequent. Writing 7 as we speak. Thanks everyone for all the kind thoughts and reviews.


	7. Cold Volcano

Robbie POV

I red-eyed my way back into town from Acapulco at 3AM this morning and picked up both my cars and have already parked them in the driveway.

It's only 9 AM.

I'm not tired at all. On some level I'm still seething about Cat. She seems to think that the hard work of music, will magically happen.

She sent me an email 2 days ago, giving a list of possible songs to cover and dates that would work for her.

What about my schedule? She seems to think that if she asks my schedule will magically clear. Not so Ms. Valentine.

Why do I have to be the one to edit it anyway? Andre can, and Beck is learning but he can do most of what she's looking for. I would tell her to ask them but the 6 of us haven't hung out since Cat got out or since Christmas really because Tori, Andre and Jade are ALWAYS in the studio. New ideas, writing down random bursts of inspiration. Kind of like her file folder she took to IMG the first time we saw them except ongoing.

"I'm back, hope I can see you guys in the next 2-3 days." –Robbie.

Sent to: Tori, Jade, Andre, and Beck.

I guess the reason she wants to edit and record with me is because we've been through so much together. I was there when she was hired, started all this off and got fired. She could be comfortable with me.

Maybe. But I still wish she could work a bit harder. In fairness, I purposely didn't ask her to do any music stuff because she still hasn't relaxed.

Buzz Buzz.

Great. Who could that be?

I tap my screen to see one new message from Jade.

"If you want to avoid Cat, get out ASAP. She saw your message. Idk if you sent it to her but she sprinted out of my place towards her car."

Craaaap. That's just great. Always the hasty one. Haste makes waste, as the saying goes. Now she's rushing into this, not knowing what I'm trying not to be mad about! I don't want to be mad, I…I'm furious though!

No use in leaving. She knows what both of my cars look like. She'll just follow me until I have to stop then she'll talk to me. Might as well stay here and have our conversation in private.

I start unloading my suitcase and put on jeans. The cold, dreary weather is still here. Meteorologists say it's either El Nino or La Nina. Too soon to call. But it's likely we'll be in for bad weather all summer. It's killing agriculture everywhere in California. Everyone is back to where we were before the economy picked up again. On the surface it's better, but down here things haven't really changed. Which is a shame. This area deserves some good fortunes.

Knock Knock Knock.

_That would be Cat._

I make my way downstairs and to the door.

"Hello." I say conversationally,

"Hey. Nice to be back?" She smiled at me, stepping inside.

"Haven't been back long, kind of too soon to tell." I shrug.

My hands are barely shaking, but I'm not sure why. I'm not mad per se, I…

"Hungry? I brought pancakes." She asked, displaying a bag from Andre's favorite Pancake and breakfast café down the street.

"Not really, can you put them under the hot lamp though?"

"Of course."

"Thank you." I politely said.

Now the conversation has to begin. Doesn't it?

"How was Acapulco?"

"Sunny and warm." I placidly said, taking out two glasses for orange juice.

"Thanks. Why'd you go without telling anyone?"

"How do you know I didn't tell anyone?" I snapped back, grabbing the orange juice with a little more force than necessary.

"Because I had to ask Jade, and then ask you, and when you didn't tell me I had to lie to your parents!"

"So why do you have to know now? Why is it so important?" I asked.

"Because I was worried! You just up and left without telling anyone! You could have been kidnapped! Or shot! You scared me to death Robbie."

"I needed a break from things, like everyone. Sometimes you gotta be spontaneous. Did you drive your SUV?" I replied, voice slightly edgy.

"Yeah, what else would I have drove here?"

"May I see the keys?" I politely asked.

"May I see the keys?" She replied.

_Wait…what?_

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You changed the locks. May I see the new ones? I'd like a copy."

"No. Who says I want you to have one?"

_Crap. That might have been too harsh. _

Good going Robbie.

Much to my surprise, she didn't shrink. She seemed to fluff up.

"Oh!" She said, in a fake surprised tone. "You don't want me to have a key? Why not?"

"I don't want you getting laid in my bed again."

WHOA! That wasn't what I meant! I…oh crap. This could be getting ugly.

"Why here? Your new bed isn't as comfy as your old one. I could just go there."

"How is he, by the way?" I quickly asked, voice acidic.

Cat opened her mouth, then abruptly shut it and went pale.

"Wha—wha—what do you mean?" She croaked out.

"The guy in the pizza parlor. The one who hugged you. I assume you raced back to him after we got back here. How is he?"

It didn't take long for the gears in her head to see my sarcasm. "You don't care. You're mad I even met him."

"Why would I be mad? Meeting new people will help you get back to normal." I said, even keeled.

"So I'm not back to normal! You blew me off last week!"

"Yeah…that's what happens when you don't want to talk to someone about something." I rolled my eyes.

"So your mad about something. Tell me Robbie. We can work this out." She said suddenly, voice going back to her scared, compassionate tone.

"Nah, I say we focus on you."

"No!" She howled. "Enough about me! I'm fine! I'm worried about you!"

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"Liar." She snapped.

"This is true."

"Then tell the truth Robbie!"

"It's best I keep quiet Cat. Sometimes you have to lie."

She took a step back and gave me a weird look. "When did that become the truth?"

"It's always been the truth. I just didn't realize it for awhile."

"Like Michael and Colton when they threatened us! Tell me Robbie!" She howled.

"No."

"ROBBIE!"

"No Cat…"

I moved to turn away, but she grabbed my collar.

"No no, you aren't getting out of this. Tell me!"

"Fine. Rex got in my head back when we broke up." I snapped, feeling like throwing something.

Cat's shoulders sagged. "Robbie…why didn't you tell me? I love you…you can tell me anything."

"You don't love me Cat."

"How can you say something like that?" She asked, sounding hysterical.

"Cat, there's no way you didn't spend the last week having sex with your new guy."

It's pretty obvious I am right. She quickly looked awkward, and started messing with her hair.

"See? It's not hard to figure you out after all. Sex, pizza and movies."

"Robbie…I…"

_I'll keep quiet so she can have her say._

"You don't trust me. You don't believe in me."

Tears started streaming down her face. She looked like the world just collapsed on top of her.

_It's true. I don't think she can be successful with how stiff her competition is._

"You have something you want to tell me…That's why you went away. I left, and that made you realize something." She squeaked out, tears still falling.

_True…you can't help but throw yourself at guys, and you don't have the drive to make yourself a successful artist._

She reached out and grabbed my hand. Hers was trembling like mad.

"Please tell me Robbie. Pleease. If there's anyone who can help me fix something I don't know is a problem it's you."

"Cat…you won't want to hear it." I said darkly.

"Please…Robbie…." She begged, squeezing my hand.

"Well…there's two." I sigh, moving to sit on the couch.

"Ok…"

"I wish you would respect yourself more."

"What do you mean?"

"Cat, you barely know this guy. I saw you meet him for god's sake. He just came to you in that pizza shop and suddenly you slept with him for a week."

She retracted her hand and swallowed.

"Cat…I honestly think you are the best girl in the world. You have the best personality I've ever seen, and I love you. How much, I don't know. But it kills me to see you throw yourself at guys when you could go out and get the best guy in the world."

"What do you mean love?"

"Cat. I wish I could give you a straight answer. I just can't ok? I'm so mad at what you are doing to you and your future I can't tell whether I love you or hate you."

"Future? Is that the second one?" She squeaked out, tears streaming out steadily.

"Uh huh."

She moved to sit indian style, holding onto my hand.

"I…I don't like your odds in music."

"Robbie…" She said…sounding stunned I would suggest it.

"Cat, I'm here looking at the facts. You have Bieber, Carly, Selena Gomez, Tori, Miley Cyrus, Greyson Chance, Adele, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga. All those people and thousands more are all vying for the slice of audience you are looking for. We haven't gotten a single ready. Yeah…Put Your Hearts Up is close…but we don't know what the reaction will be. If they like it…you will have to fast-track a complete 15 to 16 song album. We're not even close…I don't like our cards."

"But I can sing. Some of those people you mentioned can't sing."

"But they have dedicated fans, which is what counts. I'm not seeing a weapon in our arsenal big enough to make you into the star we want you to be."

She was quiet for a moment.

"Is this about me not having much music ready?"

_I think she gets it._

"Yeah. I know it's hypocritical of me to say that…I kept you away from music so you could reacclimate, and now I'm here saying you should have done more…but I'm just giving you my opinion and the facts I have."

"I don't mind the hypocriticalness of it Robbie. It's the truth. Can I give you some truth?"

"Sure."

"I don't mean to throw myself at guys. I can see how it can be seen that way by you. You like me, and I meet a guy and I quickly am with him. You don't like it. But from my perspective, my history with guys sucks, and I think I have found the right guy. I'm just doing it in a way you despise."

That doesn't help me.

"What I think doesn't matter Cat."

"You said that last time you liked me and you had to give me up."

No point fighting that one. I can't say I love her, I'm too mad. I'm just done with her act and her guys and…her really.

"I'm sorry I piss you off so much."

"Cat." I snap.

"What? I stress you out, then you can't have me. It's amazing you don't hate me."

"Don't say that."

"Say what?"

"I don't hate you."

"You should."

"Damn right I should!" I snap, causing her to jump. "You're just little miss sunshine, everything will work out. But I don't think it will."

"It will! Have faith Robbie!" She said, getting to her feet.

"Cat!" I hop to my feet too. "Take off the rose tinted glasses, close your damn legs and look at the facts!"

"WHACK!"

Ow. She slapped me. She slapped the hell out of me.

"DO NOT SAY THAT AGAIN!"

"What? Truth hurts. Deal with it."

"WHACK!"

"OW!"

"Shut up!"

"No! You need to grow up. Either that or go to Vegas. Tons of guys there."

"Are you calling me a whore?"

"No! You're approaching slut territory, but you are not one."

"You're jealous! Or mad about stuff that happened long ago!"

"No, that stuff happened way too far back to matter. I'm done with that Cat. My issue is with you. You need to fix these issues."

I swear, it was like a light bulb went off. She went from a pissed off woman to a tearful teenager in seconds.

"Sniff…" She started towards me.

"Do you mind hugging me?" She croaked out, looking up at me.

I lightly hugged her.

"I…I'm really really sorry Robbie. I…I'm a mess. I know you care about me and that you only want what is best for me. Can we make a deal?"

"How about a promise? More incentive to keep it." I suggested.

"Sure. Can you give me some time to prove to you that I really can be a successful singer, and that I have found my guy?"

"I guess so. How long do you want?"

"A month. If not I'll let you do what you want."

"Ok."

"Is that it then?" She asked, attempting to crawl into my chest.

I roughly pushed her away.

"No. It's not Cat. I'm leaving."

She quickly looked crushed.

"Why…"

"Because I can't seem to compel myself to yell at you like I really should be. I'm so pissed off about all of this and more but I can't let you have it. I don't know why, so I'm going to get away."

"And do what?"

"I DON"T KNOW! Something! Get away from you! Geez, I don't have ALL the answers Cat. I don't even know where I'm going. Just away from you. That's all I know."

"Ok. Would you like me to leave?" She asked, looking like she felt like curling up and crying.

"Yes please."

Without further complaint, she stood up and walked out, closing the door softly behind her.

_Where AM I going to go?_

That's a good question.

I grab my phone out of my pocket and glance at a map of the United States.

Miami?

_No, too many memories of Cat._

New York?

_Nope, family is there. Family I don't talk to for that matter._

New Orleans?

_Could meet some hot girls…nah. I just came from a place with the same attractions._

Chicago?

_Good food…sleazy people…Odd weather…Nope._

Houston?

_I met a couple of people from Houston once…they definitely had their own thing going on. Cool, but different._

Seattle?

_Wait…_

_Seattle!_

That's it! The only part about Cat's flaws that ate at me was the music because I held her back, thinking it was for her own good. Which I stand by. But Carly, Sam and Freddie are there and I could pick up some ideas to assist Cat. What kind of ideas? I don't know! But I have a hunch this will be a good thing.

I think I have Freddie's number around here somewhere…

Aha! Got it.

"…"

Dialing.

"Hello?"

"Hey Freddie?" I spoke up. I hope this can work.

"Yeah, who's this?" he asked.

"Robbie."

"Robbie! How are you man, what's up?"

"Actually, a whole bunch. How are you?"

"I'm good, what's going on? I assume that's why you are calling."

"Yeah, I just had an idea…"


	8. Turnaround

"Thank You for flying Northeast Airlines. We hope that you enjoyed your flight to Seattle or wherever your final destination is and on behalf of the entire crew we hope you have a nice day."

Finally, on the ground.

Only I would think staying in LA for 27 hours is a good idea. But Freddie said that he, Carly and Sam were free and I didn't really want to linger so here I am, waiting patiently for people to grab their carryon's and then I can get my rental car, to my hotel, then pop by to say hi.

I am exhausted though. I didn't sleep great and I had to get up at 5 to avoid the LAX crowd for an 11 AM flight.

Traffic is going to be the death of me.

Finally, I step into the alley and quickly am in the terminal. A friendly looking face glanced up from his pearPhone and quickly strode towards me.

"Hey man!" He smiled, taking my outstretched hand and quickly turning it into a hug. "How you doing?"

"Good man, nice to see you." I smiled.

Freddie certainly looked different from last time. He still had a lot of muscle, but his hair wasn't parted this time and he hadn't shaved today, or the previous day.

"C'mon, let's get out of this zoo…" he said, guiding me out of the terminal and towards baggage claim I assume.

"You got a car I assume?"

"I did." I smiled. I'm stealing Beck's line.

"Ok, good thing they're right next to baggage claim. You want to stop by Bushwell first?" He asked.

"Bushwell?"

"Where Carly and I live." He answered.

"Nicely worded…" I teased.

"Oh, you know what I mean."

We quickly stopped as the baggage was already in motion. My bad seemingly was laser guided for us and we weren't there 45 seconds as I quickly snatched it up. He hung back as I got my rental car, a Ford Fiesta.

"So…how's Cat?" He asked as we headed to the parking lot. We'd pick up my car at Bushwell, they said they would drop it off since it wasn't currently available. Maintenance or something.

"She's ok."

"You guys still together?"

Crap. We never made a big deal about the breakup. So we didn't really tell anyone that absolutely didn't have to know.

"No unfortunately…it's a long story." I sighed, climbing in his car, a Dodge Charger.

"Nice car, I was expecting a Prius or something."

"Yeah, that's what I was expecting with my mom, but she decided to pony up and get me a muscle car. Mind if you explain about Cat?"

"Which part? There's a lot that has gone on."

"Everything." He placidly said as we pulled out onto I-5.

"Ok…last time I saw you I hadn't told Cat about the threats. Well, I subconsciously started doubting myself thru Rex, she found out about the threats, we started fighting about our future…Michael and Colton tried to get to Cat and I…and we broke up."

"Rex?" He asked. "The puppet?"

"Yeah…I know it sounds nuts, but believe me, it was real."

"So Michael and Colton tried to mug you?"

"I…I don't know. They came after Cat for sure. Everyone was in my house when it happened, and I don't know whether they wanted to kill us or what, but point is they failed."

"And you ended up breaking up about trust and your future."

"Yeah."

"That's pretty heavy stuff." He whistled.

"I'm not even half way done."

"Please continue good sir." He gestured with a smile.

"Ok, we were kind of doing ok as friends, until I caught her in my parents' house, in my bed with Beck."

"You're kidding…"

"Nope."

"You must have blown a gasket."

"More like 5. I didn't speak to her for about a month, then we were assigned a play and we HAD to talk to one another…we crushed the play, Cat ramped up her music…and I got a girlfriend. Nothing serious, but apparently she didn't like it because the minute we broke up she flew to my side and refused to let go. We kept things going good until school ended at Christmas, when suddenly Cat ended up in Methodist Mental Hospital for a complete mental meltdown."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you say anything? My mom is a specialist on mental health. Geez dude, plus we would have wanted to be there!"

"Sorry. Didn't think of it."

Which is true.

"Tell me next time! Dude!" he said, hitting his hand on the steering wheel.

"I will I will. Sorry."

"When'd she get out?" He asked, clearly worked up.

"A couple of weeks ago."

"Damn, why are you leaving so fast?"

"I…I'm tired of some stuff."

"Like?" He asked, pulling into a parking garage.

"She has a boyfriend that she met last week. She keeps hopping from guy to guy."

"Including you?"

"Including me. Kind of. I'm her longest relationship."

"How long?"

"A year."

He looked mildly impressed.

"Ok, we're here."

We stepped out of the car and to an elevator.

"You still like her?" He asked.

Good question.

I'm…jealous I guess. But…I'm SO mad at her.

_I can be mad and still love her._

"I'm still working that out."

"So…any other reasons you're here?"

"I want to see what you guys have got going with Carly's music. I'm worried about Cat and her progress."

The elevator door opened to an avalanche of noise, and to Spencer using a jackhammer on a slab of stone. He stopped once we had stepped forward.

"HI!" He yelled. Freddie motioned for him to take off his earmuffs.

"SORRY!" Off they came.

"Why?" Freddie asked, arms extended.

"New sculpture."

"Wouldn't you bust thru the floor?" I asked. Freddie turned to me and gestured "See?"

"Nah, the floor is wood on top of concrete. We're fine."

"What's it gonna be?" Freddie asked, as a bunch of footsteps came from upstairs.

"It's supposed to be a statue."

"But statues need precision!" Freddie exclaimed, just as Carly and Sam came into view. Carly quickly hugged me.

"Hiii!" She smiled.

Hello beautiful.

"Hey there. How are you?" I asked, smiling.

"Great, now what are you two arguing about?" She turned to Freddie and Spencer.

"He's using a jackhammer for a statue!" Freddie exclaimed, showing her the stone slab, albeit with a paint outline of a woman.

"You're gonna bust it!" Carly said, swatting his arm.

"And that's my jackhammer!" Sam jumped forward, grabbing it.

"Yours?" I asked, taking a closer look. She doesn't look more muscular, just…hotter.

If that's a word.

"Yeah, I run a construction company."

"Since when?"

"Since graduation really. Momma doesn't like school."

"And it's successful?"

"Oh yeah, it's been in the paper as one of the bright spots for Seattle business." Carly chimed in, turning towards her refrigerator.

"Nice. Congrats."

"Thanks." She smiled, pulling me into a hug. "Nice to see you."

"Iced Tea?" Carly asked behind me. I turned to see her pouring three glasses with a fourth out.

"Sure."

"Hey Robbie, why are you worried about Cat's music? She can really sing." Freddie asked, looking befuddled and grabbing his iced tea.

"IMG fired her."

Sam looked shocked, and Carly did a spit take.

"What? Why?"

"They didn't think they could cut it as a singer."

"That makes no sense."

"Yeah…there's more to it. My hotel is right across the street, Freddie, can you get them up to speed?"

"Sure. Here are my keys." He tossed them to me.

On that note, I hopped back into the elevator as both girls leaned forward and Freddie spoke up.

"You're not gonna believe this…"

Can't blame him. It is kind of unbelievable when you think about it.

_Geez, this elevator is freezing._

Michael…Colton…Colby…now Alex?

I think that is his name. Wait…how long ago did Michael and Colton attack us the last time. As bad as it sounds I think Michael is dead. I recall the injection a few months ago.

…2 years.

That's a long time ago.

_Long enough ago for me to forgive her for what she did. She was only 17._

Geez, I remember when we were having an argument when we were together, and she yelled that I never forgive and forget, I always hold a grudge.

Maybe she's right. As much as I hate to admit it maybe she is right.

I finally find the trunk button on Freddie's keychain and make my way out to the hotel. By the time I'm speaking to the concierge I'm having to talk myself out of calling Cat and apologizing.

I'm supposed to be there for her, she's barely out of Methodist, and the second she starts talking to a guy not named me I flip out, leave the country and then bitch her out?

WHAT AM I THINKING?

I don't think I am.

How am I going to fix this? I've never done the whole "I'm sorry" thing except for when I apologized for yelling at her after she told me about Colton…I think.

Now I'm mixing up their names. Great.

I walk back into Bushwell and—

"HEY!"

I turn to see a quite frankly, hideous man with a huge mole on the side of his face.

"Yes?" I ask, trying to be polite.

"What do you think you are doing? Where are you going?"

"Nowhere…" I say, sidling out of the room.

"Hey! Where are you GOOING!"

I don't reply and pull out my phone.

"What floor?"

To: Carly S, Freddie B.

_Please reply fast…_

"8." –Carly

I hop into the elevator and press 17.

Next thing I know I'm knocking on Carly's door. I think it's Carly's door. 8C.

The door swung open to Spencer ushering me in.

"Door's open man, no need to knock."

"Ok…"

I barely saw a mane of brown hair coming at me before Carly had me in a hug.

"Hey…sorry about what's going on with you and Cat."

"It's ok." I reassured her.

"No, it's not. You guys can fix it though."

I just gave her a weird look. Carly Shay is one unusual woman.

"Hey man, get all checked in?" Freddie asked, turning around in the spinny chair.

"Yeah, here are your keys back." I tossed them to him, and he caught them with ease.

"So Cat's music?" Sam interjected, holding a plate with ham on it.

"Yeah, IMG fired her because they don't think she can withstand the rigors of musical fame."

"They shouldn't have fired her so quickly over that. At least give her a chance." Carly said flatly.

"I agree. I'm just worried that with people like you—" I poked Carly in the stomach, causing her to giggle. "It won't matter how good she is, nobody will pay attention to her work due to the fact she's getting such a late start."

I could practically see the wheels in Freddie's head spinning, and both girls were waiting for him to speak, so I decided to do the same.

"Robbie, the timing doesn't matter. I know it sounds odd since timing is everything, but Cat's got major league talent. As long as it is good, she'll be fine."

"That's so counter intuitive." I said flatly.

"As long as it's good, people will pay attention." Sam spoke up.

"Do you have anything she's done?" Carly asked. "We can critique it and give you some ideas."

"Sure, it's a bit rough though." I admitted, pulling out my pearPhone.

"What's it called?" Freddie asked.

"Put Your Hearts Up."

I AM SO NERVOUS. This is the first time anyone other than Cat and I have heard it.

"Ok…in 5, 4, 3, 2…"

I couldn't bear to watch their reactions as the song began. I turned and tried to concentrate on the statue Spencer is working on. He's chipped more marble off, and looks close to getting some more precise tools soon.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the song ended.

"Dude." Freddie's voice called out to me.

"What part of that is rough? Out of curiosity." Carly asked, sounding dumbfounded.

"We aren't done with all the instruments. She wants everything…live." I finally turned to the three of them looking stunned, with Carly looking intimidated.

"What?" I asked, after a moment of silence.

"That's ready right now I say. Nothing else added." Freddie said.

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, the voice is perfect man." Sam said, sounding pleased.

"You know, we've joked around when talking about you guys that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if Cat beat us. But now…" Carly began.

"It's on man." Freddie smiled at me.

"It's good?" I asked, feeling relieved beyond words.

_We're looking good._

"It sounds awesome man. Mind if I take it upstairs and analyze it?" Freddie asked.

"Sure, can I come?"

"C'mon." Carly dragged me, as Freddie and Sam raced upstairs.

They went into a room on the second floor next to a bedroom with a closed door, with a sound booth, computers and headphones, paper…basically a studio.

Freddie plugged it into a computer and a flat screen came out. After a moment, Freddie pulled out my pearPhone and gave it back to me as the audio of the song came up.

"That is some crazy pitch man." Freddie said, awestruck. "That voice is incredible!"

Buzz Buzz.

1 New message.

Thanks for mentioning you were leaving town again. Where are you now –Jade

"In Seattle with the iCarlies, working on Cat music stuff. How'd you hear I left?"

Sam, Carly and Freddie started dissecting the various parts of the song, separating them on the screen.

"That's quite the program you have there." I said.

"Thanks." Freddie smiled.

Buzz Buzz.

"Cat. She's currently writing furiously on a new song at your place. Hope you don't mind that we're here." –Jade

Always one to—

"Oh yeah, she's also sobbing." –Jade

"What? Why?" I asked.

Crap, this is making me into MORE of a jackass.

Why is she crying and writing? God, if this new guy broke up with her already, she's petrified at the thought of me and is afraid of the deadline I gave her…

I'm the bad guy this time.

"No idea. She already has some good lyrics and a title for the new song. 'This Little Girl'." –Jade

Oh this is freaking brilliant! Talk about a 180 degree shift from yesterday!

"ROBBIE!" Carly and Sam yelled, snapping me out of my reverie.

"Yeah? What? Sorry." I said in a rush.

"How long did this take?"

"…2 weeks. There or there abouts."

Freddie looked impressed. Again. He turned to Carly.

"We gotta step our game up girl."


	9. Totter

Cat POV

If only I could put the world on mute for a moment, and not notice me scream in frustration.

_AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!_

"_I DON"T KNOW! Something! Get away from you! Geez, I don't have ALL the answers Cat. I don't even know where I'm going. Just away from you. That's all I know."_

For what feels like the thousandth time tonight, I flip my pillow over and close my eyes. Again. I don't know why I couldn't fall asleep before and I don't know why I can't now.

_Why did he want to get away from me so bad?_

Whatever it is, he left in a hurry. He didn't even make his bed. Which is now being occupied by Jade, to my displeasure. I'm stuck here in stupid Camp Cat. I wanted his bed. That's MY BED. _WE_ made out in that bed.

I know he doesn't like Alex. Every time he spoke about him, he looked like he was swallowing Drano or something. Looked completely disgusted.

I hope he's not disgusted with me. What I really hope is that he doesn't hate me for meeting Alex. I think they can get along. They both like a lot of the same stuff. Alex is a English major at…UC Santa Barbara. And he likes sports. Robbie can talk sports until he's blue in the face. OOH! They even are both Christians! I know they can like one another.

_Well…I think I know what's keeping me up._

I need a smoke.

I always think clearer when I smoke. Yeah, you can shut up about how it's not healthy. I failed miserably at Methodist trying to quit. I ended up having a nurse get me some and I paid her $10 a week for all that I needed.

I throw off the covers, grab my lighter and cigarettes and pad my way out to the backyard by the pool.

_Aahh…Much better._

Why on earth is Robbie so mad at me?

God, I miss him so much it's not even funny. Not Alex, who I haven't seen since I left Santa Barbara, but Robbie. I think I'm cheating on him because I'm thinking of Robbie so much.

I have to be the world's WORST girlfriend.

"What are you doing out here?" Jade's voice asked behind me.

Damn.

%$*#

"Nothing." I replied, nonchalantly. Hopefully she'll go away and not see that I'm smoking.

"Doesn't sound like—CAT!"

Damn. Damn, Damn, Damn.

Here comes the lecture.

"You're STILL smoking? I thought you quit!" She said very quickly, sounding furious.

"Does it look like I quit?" I retort. She's really annoying me. I'm out here, trying to clear my head and enjoy this cigarette, and she just HAS to come out and bitch me out about it.

"No, clearly you didn't! Why?"

"I'm stressed! Now what do you want?"

That might have been too harsh.

She looked at me, looking slightly hurt.

"Ok, what the hell bit you today?"

"Nothing!"

"Well then, do you want me to leave?" She asked, taking a half step to the door.

No.

"No, just please don't yell at me about me smoking. I'm stressed ok?" I said, looking up at the blank night sky.

I miss the stars. I remember I said that once, and Robbie drove 45 minutes the next night just so I could see them.

Robbie again! OMG I need to stop!

"Stressed? What about? You wanna talk about it?" She offered.

"I guess…"

"Ok, let me grab some water and I'll be ready." She said, darting back inside.

_He can't love me again…can he?_

After all, why? He likes Laken. I think. And I took a vacation to Methodist Mental. The hottest spot in all of California!

"I'm back. Now what's up?" She asked, pulling up a chair.

"Umm…I can't stop thinking about Robbie."

"Ok…" She said, giving me a weird look.

"I think I'm cheating on Alex since I can't stop thinking about him. I love Alex! He's the perfect guy, the best body, and the best sex! Why am I cheating on him for—"

"Cat!" She suddenly cried out. "TMI."

"Sorry."

Yeah…I probably didn't have to bring up sex…

"You're not cheating on Alex. You're worried about Robbie. Why? I have a suspicion you talked to him and that's why he's in Seattle."

_He's in SEATTLE?_

"What? Seattle?" I blurted out. She quickly looked like she was caught red handed.

"Yeah…"

"Why didn't you tell me? When did you talk to him?" I demanded.

"Yesterday, and you were crying at the time, so why upset you more?"

Good point.

"I want to know where he is!"

"Why? What's eating at you so much that he won't come off your mind?" She retorted quickly.

Damn, she really trapped me there. Nice one, I'll admit.

"He said he didn't want to be around me right now! He's mad about my music and Alex and I suspect other stuff and I DON'T know why?" I howled.

Jade simply looked impressed.

"Well then."

"Jadeee…please help me."

"Don't worry about the music stuff ok? Those chips will fall where they may. Alex…that's a different story." She sighed.

"Why?"

"Well it's kinda obvious isn't it! He's jealous!" She exclaimed.

"Jealous? Why?"

"You have been the centerpiece of his life, like it or not for a looong time now. The best time to him was when you guys were together, but he's perfectly happy when it's just you guys and no distractions. Alex came into the picture and completely messed up that picture."

"So you think he likes me?"

Oh crap. Not this again. Not saying I don't care for him…but I don't want to have to hurt him for his own good.

"Girl, I have absolutely no idea. We've been thru this before."

Yeah…let's not talk about that.

_About how much I've damaged him._

"So am I cheating on Alex?" I asked, afraid of her answer.

"No! God no, if being worried about someone was cheating, there would be no more faithful people."

"Good." I breathed.

I'm a good girlfriend.

"I think I know why he's always been so touch and go about your boyfriends though." She said, sounding like she's not completely talking to me.

"Huh?"

She turned to face me.

"I never told you why Robbie and I stopped talking in the first place did I? You made up some excuse and left, while the others heard it."

"No…"

"Ok…so Robbie and I are in 4th grade. Things are great, sleepovers as often as we could have them, and school is great. I didn't notice how Robbie occasionally came in for a extra hug. Why? He's my best friend, and it's a hug. Who cares right?"

_He liked her…_

_Oh no…_

I could feel the tears coming.

"But then he told me he was transferring to a Hollywood Arts feeder, Bates Academy—"

_That's where I met him…_

"—and I lost it, yelling at him that I hated him and didn't care about him. Terrible stuff. I didn't know he liked me. One day in art, after tons of people pestering me about it, I asked him and he confessed."

_Poor guy…he's got to be the most unlucky guy ever._

"I yelled at him, threw my crayons at him—" She laughed. "—and stormed out. We4 didn't talk for like 2 years. Wait…why are you crying?" She asked.

"Why doesn't he hate me?" I asked.

"What? Do you want him to hate you or something?"

"No! But he should. I've broken his heart so many times it's not even funny." I sobbed, putting my head in my arms.

"Cat, outside of Alex, I say forget the stuff that happened before. That happened a long time ago. It's time to forget it. He obviously did. Otherwise he probably would hate you."

"But what about Laken!"

"Laken? Who cares? She's been out of the picture for months now! She's a bitch anyway, no loss there."

"So he doesn't like her?"

"No!" She said definitively.

"Then he's mad at me!"

"No way." Jade monotoned.

"Jade! Help me!"

"Cat, simple. Give it time and work with what you got. Keep going with Alex. If it keeps going, great. You can live out the rest of eternity together."

"And if not?"

She gave me a odd look.

"Then follow your heart. It can't lead you wrong. Anything else?"

"Can I sleep in Robbie's room?" I squeaked out.

"…why?" She asked, looking befuddled.

Luckily for me I already had a excuse made up.

"The water heater is keeping me up. And you're a heavier sleeper than I am."

She slightly smiled and began to stand up. "Sure, let me grab some clothes from in there and you can go in ok?"

"Thanks Jade." I smiled.

Robbie POV

The sound of Carly's happy voice greeted me as soon as I opened the door.

"Good Morning!"

"Morning Carly, thanks for inviting me." I smiled, looking to Sam and Freddie subtly glaring at each other.

"Oh no problem, I've never been a fan of those continental breakfasts and why not eat with us?" She smiled.

Good point.

"What's up with you two?" I asked Sam and Freddie.

"Sam's mad for no reason…"

"No reason!" Sam howled.

Carly turned away from the stove to glare at Sam. "It was a accident. Nothing wrong intended."

"Well my eyes tell me a different story!"

"Sam! It was a accident! Carly called me up there to help her out. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"Why didn't she invite me too?" Sam snapped at Freddie.

"Maybe you can't work music editing software to save your life!" Freddie snapped. Sam opened her mouth, but couldn't find an appropriate retort.

Meanwhile, I slowly had snuck over to where Carly stood, frying bacon.

"What happened?" I asked quietly, as Sam and Freddie continued to duke it out.

"Oh, I had some inspiration for a song late last night and asked Freddie to come help me get some basic chord ideas down before I forgot them. Sam came here around 7 this morning to find Freddie passed out next to me on my bed."

"On the bed or in the bed?" I asked. She simply gave me a befuddled look.

"There's a big difference." I explained.

She seemed to accept that and said "On. Freddie and I have never slept together."

"You know, there's a easier way to cook bacon."

"What? I thought we were talking about Freddie and me."

"No, we're talking about bacon now. How's the sound of putting it in the oven for 30 minutes and forgetting about it until you take it out, fully cooked?"

She looked surprised. "Can you buy it?"

"Yeah, I have a extra one at home if you want it." I offered.

"Yeah!"

"Great, I'll ship it when we get back."

"Did I hear about a easier way to cook bacon?" Sam asked, turning her head around.

"Yeah, thanks to Robbie."

Sam quickly tackled me into a hug.

"What's going on here!" Spencer called out, stepping out his room with a Sham-Pow in his hands drying his hair.

"Robbie knows an easy way to cook bacon." Sam said, still hugging me. I gently pried her off me and grabbed a glass for some orange juice.

"Whoever invented that has a date coming to him." Spencer quipped. I quickly stuck my head in the fridge and grabbed the OJ. I swear I heard Sam growl at him.

What kind of girl growls?

"Ok, easy now. We're ready." Carly said, placing a full plate in front of Sam. "You guys can serve yourself."

"Why didn't Sam serve herself?" I asked, getting to my feet.

"She doesn't believe in plates. She just grabs the pans and refuses to share. So we have to treat her like a 7 year old." Freddie said placidly, spooning out some scrambled eggs and hash browns.

Quickly, something silver flew under my arm and towards Freddie. I whipped my head around to see it lodged in the wall and quivering.

"Sam!" Carly cried.

It's a steak knife. Freddie is frozen next to the stove. The piece of toast he was holding has a small hole in it.

"Why did you throw the knife!" She cried.

"If you had been on target, Freddie's dead!" I cried out. That only seemed to send the Shay's into a fury.

Spencer quickly accosted all her silverware and replaced them with plastic equivalents. Carly did the same with her glass of orange juice.

Sam didn't seem to notice, and had devoured her plate by the time Freddie sat next to me. Carly was brave enough to sit next to Sam.

Spencer declined to eat, saying he wasn't hungry. All he did was stand in Sam's line of sight and look angry.

Breakfast was a tense affair. Sam immediately said she was still hungry, and Carly said breakfast was done being served.

She immediately made a move to my food, and I snatched my plate away. She quickly fixed me with a dark stare.

"Don't try to intimidate me Sam. I've had two attempts on my life and fought off a third. You don't scare me."

To my left, Freddie smirked.

"Momma scares everyone."

"Momma has hugged me. I'm more afraid of alien abduction. Sorry."

Sam could only growl.

Finally, we all finished and we all did our dishes.

"C'mon, I want to show you the new song." Carly said, right as Sam finished her plate and had it whipped out of her hand by Spencer.

We moved back to the same room as yesterday, and Freddie and Carly collapsed on beanbags next to one another.

Sam simply sat next to me and looked out of place.

_Poor girl._

"Wanna hear it?" Carly asked me, remote in her hand.

"Sure, what the heck." I shrugged.

Freddie smirked and pressed a button.

_Just woke up, it's day 10. It still hurts, like back then._

_Tears like rain flood my bed, can't erase what I did._

_This is what I get for telling you I don't need you around…what a lie. And this is what I get for thinking there was ever someone better in my life!_

_And it's all kinds of wrong…without you. I can't breathe when you're gone. _

_Don't know what to do. Now the best of me is lost…in a memory. _

_And it's all kinds of wrong without you._

The song abruptly stopped.

"And that's when we got so tired and fell asleep." Freddie said definitively.

"That's it?" Sam asked, looking surprised.

For once, I agree with her.

"Yep." Carly simply said.

"What did you think?" Freddie asked me.

"This puts me back in the worried camp about Cat's music. We're not that good yet."

All three of them rolled their eyes.

"You'll see Robbie…you'll see we're right and you're wrong. You just gotta have faith.


	10. Inexplicable

"Click…"

_Flowers…and perfume._

Yep, Cat and Jade were here.

I close the door as quietly as possible. The strength of the perfume makes me think they're still here.

I pick up my roller luggage and place it in the foyer.

It's 9 AM but I'm creeping around like its 5. I don't want to wake either of them up. Both of them are big fans of their beauty sleep.

I eventually make my way up to the spare bedroom, where 'Camp Cat' once resided.

I miss having Cat so close to me. Of course, she was closer as of two weeks ago back in Santa Barbara, but you get the point. We breathed the same air, basically were a couple again except for physical aspects.

I'll never admit to it, but I wish Cat was mine again. That brief half second when we had graduated and were relaxing at home, her using me as her pillow without a care in the world? I miss that more than I can say.

_Wait…that's Jade._

Unless she undyed her hair again. If so I might have to take out Alex.

I sneak into my bedroom to find Cat cuddling the spare pillow.

Some things never change.

Cat's wearing a loose tank top, and I can't tell the bottoms, but is fast asleep. She looks completely at peace, like the crap that has happened to her simply disappeared.

I blink and realize I've subconsciously moved so I can see her face once I brush the hair out of her eyes.

_So cute._

Cute enough to kiss, for sure.

_No…Robbie, slow your roll. You aren't that guy. She has a boyfriend._

So? It would only be on the cheek, and she'll never know! And unfortunately I am already that guy. I've already kissed her when she had a bf before.

I glance at Cat, eyes closed with no discernible expression on her face.

It felt like forever, but I gave her a chaste kiss and whispered 'Sleep Well' before standing back up and creeping back to Jade.

Unfortunately, I loosened up too much and sat down too hard on Jade's bed, causing her to stir immediately.

"Robbie?" She asked sleepily, sitting up.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you up." I whispered.

"It's ok, I'm glad to see you." She yawned, pulling me into a hug. "What time is it?"

"9:30. I got back like 30 seconds ago. Why is Cat in my room?"

"She asked for it by BS-ing an excuse about the hot water heater."

"Odd." I said, stepping up to shut the door. I don't want to wake Cat too. I doubt she'll be so kind as Jade.

"Eh, she missed you terribly. Trying to figure out where you stand in this new Alex world."

"Ahh." I simply said.

"Can you come lie with me? I'm cold." She whispered, scooting closer to me. Clearly she wants me to lie on the other side.

I answered by kicking off my shoes and slipping under the covers next to her.

"Ahh, you're warm. I'm sick and tired of this depressing weather." Jade said, curling up to me.

Odd she says she's cold, I can feel her legs thru my jeans.

"Did it get any better while I was in Seattle?"

"Nah, it did the opposite." She replied.

"So…worse." I deadpanned.

"Smartass." She shot at me, rolling her eyes.

"You'll have to deal with it."

"Only because you're cute." She conceded.

"Cute huh?"

"Yeah, I said it, you're cute."

"I like it, say it again." I smiled, looking over at her.

"You're hot."

"That's not what you said."

"It's a fact." She smiled.

"Which is it? Cute or hot."

"Hot."

"Ok, when did this start happening?" I asked, with a smirk.

"It's been coming on for a while…it just kind of hit me last year."

"When we slept together?"

"Uh huh." She nodded.

For whatever reason, I impulsively slipped my hand under her shirt. I barely heard her gasp before I started massaging her stomach.

Then I swear she started to purr.

"You know, if any other dude on earth does that, they die. You know that right?"

"I know." I said, picking up the pace and causing her to squirm.

"Robbie…"

"What?"

"You know what's coming if you keep that up."

I do. And I don't know whether it's the awesome feeling of being so close to her or having my hand on her bare skin but I doubt I'll stop.

"So? It's my house."

"Robbie…I won't be able to hold back."

I took my hand higher and brushed the skin directly under her bra.

"Ohh…god. I'm dead serious dude."

"I am too…" I started massaging again.

"Fuck it…" She growled, climbing on top of me and attacking my lips while at the same time starting grinding her hips. I met her stride for stride.

"Oh god…" She breathed and we momentarily separated before she began again with fervor.

We kept at it until finally she seemed to realize any farther and we wouldn't be able to backtrack. And we collapsed, gasping.

"It's sounds bad…but god I needed that. So, so bad." She moaned.

I kept quiet.

"Why'd you provoke me?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, but once I started I didn't want to stop." I admitted.

She smiled and threw off her tank top. "Lucky bastard. What other guy has a girl that he can instantly make horny just by massaging her?"

_Alex._

No. Don't let her ruin this too.

"Hey Robbie?" Jade asked, looking up at me with her 'can you keep a secret?' face.

"One night this week I want to come over."

And not fall asleep.

Sounds fun.

"Sure, have a preference when?"

She lifted herself to whisper in my ear.

"The sooner the better."

"Fine by me." I said, trying to sound indifferent. Jade simply rolled her eyes.

"So…try to top this one in terms of awkward transition sentences. How are you and Beck coming?"

She burst out laughing, way too loud for comfort.

"We're coming along ok I guess…too slow for my liking but you know how that goes."

I may be paranoid, but I think I just heard Cat get up. I _barely_ heard a "thump".

"Cat's up." I say, diving behind the bed.

"What?" Jade gasped, moments before the door swung open.

"I heard voices, are you ok?"

Cat.

_I knew it._

"Yeah, fine. Voices?"

"Yeah, one of them sounded like Robbie."

"I just got off the phone with him. He's getting in later today."

_JADE!_

Now that has to be the worst lie in the last 30 years! I'm behind the freaking bed! Yeah, I don't want her to know that right now, but still! Now I have to sneak out of my own house!

"Ahh. Any idea why I heard a deep voice right before you laughed really loud?" Cat asked, bending down to check under the bed. For me I assume.

I'm screwed. Even if she misses me behind the bed all she has to do is look down and she'll find my shoes from this morning.

I glance down, expecting to see Cat, but instead see a huge box.

_When did that get there?_

Oh wait…that's Tori's.

So I just made out with Jade, on top of a box of Tori's stuff while I like Cat, while Jade likes Beck. Cat is dating Alex and has already fucked him all the while being confused about where she stands with me.

Excuse me while I spin my head 360 degrees multiple times.

_._

Ok, now I'm better.

"No."

"Any idea why my cheek was wet when I woke up?" She randomly threw out there.

"No, haven't been out of this room Cat."

"Where did these come from?" Cat asked, holding up my shoes.

I'm busted.

"Oh, I borrowed those from your room last night. And a cigarette. And your lighter. Hope you don't mind."

_Wait…she's still smoking? They're BOTH smoking?_

"JADE!" Cat howled.

"No need to shout." Jade said in a calm voice.

"Why'd you do that?"

"I could ask the same thing." Jade shot back.

"Are you getting back at me for the other night? I'm sorry ok?"

"Fine. Are we done?" Cat snapped.

"I guess so."

SLAM!

I poked my head up to see Jade standing by the bed and the door shut tight.

"DAMN IT!" came from the hallway.

All I could do was looked afraid and confused.

"That was weird." Jade said simply.

"SLAM!" Another door shut violently. I assume it's my door.

"So I'm getting back tonight huh?" I asked, sarcasm lacing my voice.

"I'm sorry." She immediately whined. "I panicked."

"Can you distract her while I sneak out of here?"

"Sure. Tell me when."

I moved to her side of the room and looked for my shoes.

"Where are my shoes?"

"Uhh…Cat had them in her hand…" Jade said, spinning around.

"Did she put them down?"

…

"I don't think so."

"Crap! Now I don't have shoes!"

Now where am I going? I was planning on chilling in downtown.

"Damn it!" Jade said.

My parents. I need to say hi.

_That's my out._

I can duck their awkward questions.

"I got it! You just distract Cat and let me escape. Don't worry about me."

"But your shoes?" She looked confused, and slightly worried.

"Don't worry. I'll tell you later. Go!"

Jade quickly proceeded out of the room and towards mine. I stuck close to the door and waited for her to shut the door and I would make my break for it.

"Click."

I sprinted down the stairs, not my smartest move but I made it and scrambled out the door and to my car. I peeled out and was out of sight in less than 2 minutes.

_Whoa…these pedals feels weird in just your socks._

Never knew that before. But then again, when have I had a reason to drive without shoes?

It didn't take long for me to get to my parents.

Once on the porch, I sarcastically knocked on the door, in plain view of both of them loitering in the kitchen.

Mom quickly came to the door and threw it open. "Robbie!"

"Hi mom. How have you guys been?" I breathed out, as she hugged me.

"Good good, c'mon in!" She pulled me in.

"Hey Robbie." Dad smiled. "How was Seattle?"

"Fun, I think I should have gone earlier." I admitted, as he pulled me into a hug.

"Where are your shoes?"

Thanks mom. Totally ruined the moment.

Dad let go of me, glanced at my feet and gave me the weirdest look.

"At home. It's a long story."

"Ok…explain?" She asked.

"Jade accidentally said I was getting in later today when I was hiding in the guest room."

"To who?" Dad asked.

"Cat."

This sounds terrible.

"Why?"

"Even longer story."

"This isn't some weird new trend is it?' Dad asked, still giving me his weird look.

"No Dad."

"You aren't rebelling against something are you?" Mom asked, sounding scared.

"No mom…I'm perfectly law abiding and happy. I just left my shoes at home on accident."

"Ok…" Dad said.

"Whatever you say. Are you hungry?" Mom asked.

"Of course, are you cooking?" I asked.

"Yep." She smiled, moving back to the stove.

"Then I'm extra hungry." I replied, cueing up laughs from everyone.

Mom ended up cooking a monstrous breakfast that left me completely stuffed before putting me to work on various household chores that she couldn't do and that Dad weaseled himself out of for the entire day.

"Ok, are we done now?" I asked, heaving the last box into my room, next to Cat's remaining clothes. Which actually is quite a lot.

"Yeah. Thanks Robbie." Mom smiled.

"Can I borrow some shoes? I'm gonna go home and collapse." I breathed.

God, I'm exhausted. Only here can I go from relaxed to personal mover in 20 minutes. Oh well, they're my parents. I love them.

Mom giggled. "Sure."

Actually, I didn't go straight home. I stopped by Chuy's and said hi to Paul, grabbing a Large Nacho along the way before FINALLY making it back home at 9 PM.

I went straight to bed, with nothing but dust accompanying me. I was almost asleep, not a thought until I smelled something I haven't smelled in a LOOOONG time. So long in fact, it took me a moment to recognize it.

Cat.

Not her strawberry perfume, but her. Her "smell" for lack of a better term.

_Now this is gonna be a looong night…_

So much for catching up on some sleep.


	11. Sneaking Around

Attention All CTC Students!

Signup for fall classes will start Wednesday, June 1 at 2 PM. Classes are on a first come, first serve basis. You may signup either thru the CTC website or in person starting at 8 AM Thursday June 2nd.

_Ugh. CTC emails already? I don't want to study…or do actual work._

I'm lazy. Newsflash everybody.

_Might as well glance at the classes I need to get out of the way. I'm only entering my second semester. Wow, my whole academic calendar is really thrown off._

1 more Math, English and History, along with Psychology and Political Science. And theater of course. Then I can start to take sophomore courses in foreign languages, actual science and stuff like that. The tough stuff.

Ugh again.

Ok…what times to choose. No Friday courses obviously, and no early mornings either preferably. Last semester they let us put classes in a "shopping cart". Kind of like those online stores, but you pick a class and a time and it holds a spot for you until the actual registration happens. Then it loads you in for you. Hopefully they can do it again.

I click to the CTC website to register for the classes…

Oh wow.

Almost nobody has signed up yet! Yay getting what I want!

"Knock Knock."

That would be the door. I'm on the other end of the house and don't want to get up.

"IT'S OPEN!"

I heard the door creak open.

"Robbie? You here? I heard a shout!" Jade called out, as the door creaked open.

"Yeah! I said the door was open!" I shouted back.

"Oh…well then."

A moment later I heard multiple footsteps near the door.

"Hey Robbie, whatcha doing?" Jade asked happily. She came over a couple of days ago. I haven't seen the others. Cat seemed very tentative and didn't speak directly to me.

"Looking at CTC stuff. They set up registration dates for the fall. You can put what you want in the shopping cart." I said, turning to see Cat hiding, or simply standing behind Jade.

"Really? When is registration starting?" Jade asked.

"The second. Hey Cat." I smiled, trying to get one in response.

"Hi." She squeaked.

Still nervous. Tentative, call it what you want. She isn't comfortable.

"Hey Jade, can I talk to you for a second?" I asked.

Jade was obviously taken by surprise. "Sure…" She replied, walking out towards the patio, which is what I was hoping she would do.

Cat POV

Jade and Robbie walked outside to the patio.

Robbie's CTC login is still up, 6 classes chosen and in his shopping cart.

No Fridays. Late classes Monday thru Thursday.

Exactly what Robbie wants I bet.

It's nice to finally see him in person, and more importantly not seething at me. At least not on the surface.

I have to keep working my butt off on my new music and covers. Every day since he gave me the reality check I've done something music related. Researching new songs to cover, writing a couple of new songs, and talking to Beck about what he thinks I should do.

I'm afraid to ask Robbie. I don't want to bother him. He's completely lost faith in me. I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be the time that he started to fade out of my life. I finally have a great boyfriend, getting back into the social swing of things and I've finally shaken his confidence to the point he now thinks I'll be a failure. He could just hand his share of my musical career to Beck or give it back to me and…go do other stuff I guess.

But I don't want that. Robbie is awesome and I want him around. He can always shove me to the side at any moment though. I fear it's just a matter of when and not if anymore.

_He can't shove me to the side if we share some classes._

Most of the classes he is going to take I need too.

_I should copy them down, get on my pearPhone and signup for the same ones. That way we can remain friends!_

It's foolproof.

I quickly jot down his planned schedule on a piece of paper from his printer and throw it into my purse. Which I don't even know I brought it in here. Wait…

_Why are we even here at Robbie's?_

Does Jade like Robbie? She admitted to sleeping with him last fall…

This is confusing. My head hurts.

I'm going for water.

Robbie POV

I reached behind her and shut the sliding glass door.

"Why are we out here?" She immediately shot at me.

"I remembered something from when Cat surprised us. When did you start smoking?"

"I'm not." She quickly shot back. "I made it sound that way to give me a excuse for your shoes being there. But she is still smoking."

"I know that. Makes me want to throw up." I admitted.

"We have to think of a way to get her to quit on her own."

…

_I know how I would get her to quit. It would be easy to enforce, and she would hate it to the point the damn cancer sticks would go right into the trash._

"Yeah." I agreed.

"You picked your classes yet?" She asked, perching herself on the ledge.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for the second so they can get confirmed."

"When did you get the email?"

"Today."

"Knock Knock."

Jade and I both turned to see Tori and Andre making silly faces on the other side of the glass.

"Looks like I have visitors." I sighed.

"Yep." Jade replied, sliding off the ledge and moving to the door.

"Oh great...not you two." I fake grumbled as I opened the door.

"Yep, us two. Nice to have you here for longer than a day." Tori smiled, hugging me.

"How's the music?" Andre asked Jade.

"It's ok, can't find the lyrics for 'Forever Bleeding' but I'm finding portions. You down to help me later this week?" She smiled.

"Yeah, just text me when your free."

Glancing past them I see Beck and Cat talking and looking serious, Cat with an egg in hand.

"What's up?" Tori smiled.

"Not much, but it's early on today. Why so perky?" I smiled.

"I don't know, just happy."

"You didn't overload on coffee did you?" Jade asked, looking slightly worried.

"No. Just happy."

Behind her, Beck and Cat still were deep in conversation. It's obviously important. Cat has moved back to cracking eggs…for something. Every time Beck stops speaking I see her start to talk.

"What is Cat doing?" Andre asked.

"Don't know…" Jade said, trailing off at the end.

"Well, she has a egg in her hand…and cracked it. She's making something." Tori pointed out.

Quickly, Cat dived at Beck for a hug; he kissed her hair and looked to see us looking at him.

"Hey guys, what's up?" He smiled, making his way to us.

"Not much…" Jade shrugged.

"Hey Robbie, how was Seattle?"

"It was ok…"

Carly is kicking our ass in song output and she took only one night. And I went because of Alex.

So in reality it sucked.

Majorly.

"Hey Cat! What are you doing?" Jade called out.

"Breakfast!" She chimed back, smiling.

"Breakfast?" Tori asked, looked stumped.

"Yeah! Aren't you guys hungry?"

"Yeah…" Jade replied.

"But you didn't say anything." Tori finished.

"Oh…do you guys not want it?" Cat asked, looking nervous.

"I do." I said. I'm starving actually.

Cat looked thrilled. "Anyone else?"

Everyone else shook their heads.

Cat simply frowned and cracked her next egg violently.

I took the long way into the kitchen, leaving the others to strike up a new conversation.

"Thanks Cat." I smiled at her, as she cut up ham.

"Of course Robbie. I had a feeling you were hungry." She smiled back.

"What are we having?"

"Our usual." She smiled again.

"Sweet, is the bacon already in?"

"Yep yep."

"You're amazing." I smiled, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"Thanks…how was Seattle?" She smiled.

"Fun, I was wrong about Carly. Well…Carly and Freddie think I'm wrong." I admitted.

"Really now…"

"You don't sound surprised." I replied, surprised myself.

"I am…believe me. But I was concentrating on the eggs, and that changed my response."

"Ok, well Carly said that it was quality not quantity, and Freddie said the same."

"Anything else?"

I racked my brain.

"No, nothing I can think of."

"Good, right on time too." Cat mumbled, pulling the bacon out of the oven.

"Looks great." I commented, trying to placate her.

"Yeah, the omelet's gonna be even better." Cat said, taking the bacon off the cooker with tongs.

"Why?" I asked.

"You're cooking it."

"What?"


	12. Bread and Roller Coasters

For whatever reason, I have some really weird quirks. I'm not talking about routine quirks or personality things. It's like weird facts of life quirks. Stuff like "The president and I both have had breakfast, lunch and dinner, roughly at the same time today."

It'll just hit me. Doesn't really matter what I'm doing, it'll just pop up and refuse to leave my brain.

Today's quirk?

_On the most important days of my life, it basically will have the same script._

Normal, then there's a dramatic twist or turn and suddenly I'm on a new path, all remnants of the past stuck, waiting to be restarted.

Example. The day Cat went to Methodist, remember I got the call about her vandalizing Laken's car? I was going to close her account she shared with me and make her work the money I had to pay to get it fixed thru my Dad.

Never happened.

Now I can't really. Dad and Mom will volunteer to give her the money, and yell at me for eating it for so long.

_Crap! Cold, cold water!_

I scramble out of the shower and grab my towel.

I'm glad I bumped up the heat. This depressing weather is still here.

At least I finished my shampoo and body wash. I hope I just used all the hot water up, and that it didn't break. That's an expensive hot water heater.

I stand there and shiver for like 3 or 4 minutes before talking myself into getting dressed. Ridiculous I know. I'm just weird.

Finally, I start plodding my way downstairs.

_I really don't want to cook breakfast. Maybe I should go out…whe—_

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

I jump out of my skin as Jade quickly has me in a tight hug.

Yeah, it's my birthday. They forgot last year. Everyone did. I didn't really mind, I don't like the spotlight on me.

But they apparently didn't forget this year.

As soon as Jade relinquishes me, Tori has already kissed both my cheeks and is strangling me with love.

"Tori…can't breathe?" I cough out.

"Sorry…" She backs up, only to hug me again.

Banner and everything. They brought out all the stops. That's nice of them. I'm just 19. No big deal.

As mom sang to me on my sixteenth. "One year closer to death, Happy Birthday…"

I'm glad I inherited someone else's sense of humor and not my parents. I love them, but they aren't the jokesters of the family.

"Happy birthday Rob." Beck smiled, shaking my hand and clapping me on the back.

"19 huh? You don't look 19…" Andre smirked, as Jade ruffled my hair.

"Eww! It's wet! Robbie!" She shrieked, wiping her hand off feverishly on my shirt.

"I just got out of the shower, what do you expect?"

"You to completely dry your hair?" She asked, giving me a reproachful look.

"I can't, do you want me to have a Jewish Fro?"

"No, but—"

"Then it stays." I said finally, glancing around for Cat.

But all I find is a buffet from Andre's breakfast place.

"You hungry?" Jade asked, moving to the kitchen.

"What do you think?" I rhetorically asked.

"You're always hungry."

"Bingo."

"Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you can have EVERYTHING." Tori rolled her eyes, grabbing some plates.

"Aww man. Really?" I frowned, giving her a sad look.

She just bit her lip and giggled.

Jade suddenly handed me a plate loaded to the brim. I patiently waited for everyone else to get their share.

"What are you waiting on?" Andre asked, looking at me weird.

"You guys."

"Oh." He looked surprised. "Thanks."

We all didn't speak much and systematically devoured our helpings. However, they reverted back to treating me the moment I stood to wash my plate.

Jade threw out her arm, stopping my progress. "No, give it to me."

"But—" I began, but stopped by her giving me her "Listen or else" look.

"Fine…I need to ask you something real quick." I conceded.

"I got it." Tori snatched my plate up.

"I'll be right back." Jade said, turning to follow me to my room.

The second she crossed the door she closed it behind her.

"What's up?"

"You know what's up." I said bluntly.

_Where the hell is Cat?_

I'm trying to remain positive and not send off a furious text, but I'm starting to lose my resolve.

She let out a heavy sigh and collapsed on my bed. "We've been planning for today for a couple of weeks. Apparently when Cat was telling Alex about her plans this week she let slip the party and he didn't like it. She told me he would let her come but texted me this morning at 6 saying he wasn't letting her come back."

"She could have avoided the entire issue by staying in town." I grumble.

"I know…but we both know you do stupid stuff when you're in love."

I couldn't resist rolling my eyes.

"Hey." Jade suddenly grabbed my hand. "Please ignore her for one day. She did this to herself. We want today to be awesome for you. If anyone deserves it, it's you and you know it."

"I'll try."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Can I give my present now?"

"Ok…"

I know what's coming.

Jade quickly had her legs wrapped around me and had me in a deep kiss, causing me to fall back onto my bed. It went on longer than I thought it would, not that I minded.

"Happy birthday." She finally whispered in my ear.

"Nice present." I chided her.

"Hey, you know I can't give that in public."

"True…everyone else would faint."

She climbed off me and offered me her hand. I let her help me up, but saw my hair was messed up.

"Just a sec, let me fix this."

She headed out the door as I made myself presentable. But as soon as I stepped outside my room I froze.

"What'd he say?" Tori asked.

"Where's Cat." Jade replied.

"I can't believe she didn't find a way to get here." Beck grumbled. "After all he's done for her? She's like spitting in his face."

"But Alex's illusion of Superman is slipping. Which is good." Andre butted in.

"You think he still likes her?" Beck asked, sounding keen on knowing the answer.

"I can't tell. Cat's messed him up and he can't even tell. I used to be able to get a read on him easy, that's how I figured out he liked Cat back in junior year. Now he subconsciously hides everything."

"And Cat caused that?" Andre asked.

"Yeah, unless Stephanie fucked him up without us knowing."

"That would make sense; they broke up way too fast for it to be normal. And the only account we got was from Cat, who was not right that day." Tori prophesized.

"Good point. He's taking a while…ROBBIE!" Jade yelled.

"Coming…keep your pants on geez." I rolled my eyes.

I swear, life runs like a play. I am officially on cue.

"You ready for fun?" Tori smiled at me.

"Yep."

"You're with me man." Beck said, as Jade and Tori piled into Tori's Mustang. Andre followed in his Mercedes SLS Coupe.

"Why am I not driving?" I asked once beck had backed out of the driveway.

"You have a habit to not let yourself relax. So we're taking everything out of your control."

I opened my mouth to protest. I'm not a child.

"No. You need to chill dude. I need to ask you something anyway."

If he asks about Stephanie I'm stopping him cold.

"Ok, ask away."

"Are you and Jade interested in each other?"

"What? What on earth makes you think that?" I asked, turning to get a good look at him.

"Cat told me she heard you guys a few days ago when you got back. Then found your luggage."

"So?"

"And today? Usually you ask whatever it is in front of everyone. But instead you retreat to your bedroom and shut the door."

"What's your point Beck?" I don't like his dodging the issue.

"You're sneaking around."

"Beck…"

"I need to know whether I should start looking for other girls and leave her to you."

Ahh…

"Don't worry. I don't like Jade. She…is being kind of possessive of me right now."

"Possessive?"

"Yeah."

I almost said she likes him.

It's the thrill of the chase after all.

"What did she do in your bedroom that caused you to hesitate?"

"Uhh…it's best I don't answer that." I spat out.

"Dude. Did you lie to me?"

"No, she's told me she doesn't like me."

"Then what is so bad?"

"She kissed me."

"Both times?"

"What?"

"Cat said she heard you guys."

"Oh…yeah. Then too."

He whacked his hand on the steering wheel.

"Dude! I have asked her and she said she likes someone else."

"You won't tell me will you."

"No. The best advice I can give is start making a subtle move. She's waffling right now."

"On the guy?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah."

"Ok…"

"You know you're really important to her."

"I know…" I sighed, pulling into a parking lot.

"My money's on you."

"You better not be fucking with me Rob."

"I'm not."

"Why'd she kiss you then? Did she explain?"

"First time, she missed me, today it's my birthday."

He was quiet for a minute.

"Makes sense."

"It's the truth."

I feel bad for being such a good liar.

He killed the ignition and hopped out of the car.

"Ready for some roller coaster fun?" Tori smiled, pulling on her light jacket.

"Yeah."

As promised, they refused to let me pay for a two hour all access pass for the five of us.

We took a couple of rides then took a break, since all of us felt a bit queasy.

"Wow, that's a low price on Cotton Candy. You want some?" Jade asked Tori.

"Sure."

"I got it." Beck injected, quickly heading over to the stand. Jade and Tori looked from each other, then to me.

"Don't ask me, maybe he wants something and didn't want to sound selfish." I threw out there.

"Andre!" A girl yelled out, waving to him.

"Hey!" He smiled back, darting to her.

Jade and Tori looked at each other again.

"What is it with guys today?" Jade asked.

"Don't ask me, I don't have my free will with me today."

"Easy now. We just want to save you from yourself." Tori smacked my arm.

"Thanks for that."

"Sorry about Cat." She suddenly spat out.

I couldn't hold eye contact with her. "Not your fault."

"I'm planning on giving this guy a piece of my mind when I do finally meet him." Jade said darkly.

"You haven't met him?"

"Nope. She's keeping him on a tight leash."

"Or he has one on her." I muttered darkly.

"True."

"Here you go." Beck said, handing each of the girls a gigantic cotton candy.

"Aww, thanks Beck." Jade smiled, moving to him for a hug, but inadvertently hitting him in the face with the cotton candy.

"Ahh." Beck mumbled, moving it out of his face. Tori laughed in the background and Jade took a gigantic bite out of the part the collided with Beck's face.

_Oh._

Beck at least had the sense to look mollified.

"Sorry, what'd I miss?" Andre said, sauntering back to us with a smile on his face.

"Not much, you look happy." Tori smirked, punching his arm.

"Eh, it was the usual. 'I like your parties, you should do another one soon.'"

"Why aren't you doing any parties?" Jade said, mouth half full.

"Summer has been slow so far. It picks up after the fourth of July."

Suddenly Jade's phone started going off.

"Hello?...Yeah, I'll bring him over after we're done here….it'll be another two or three hours….great, love you too…bye."

"Let my guess, my parents?" I threw out there.

Who else does she love that I'm also close to?

"Yep, they want you for dinner."

"Do I get a say in this?"

"Well, you could be reasonable and just say yes."

Everyone burst out laughing.

"I guess I could do that. But where's the fun in being easy to please?"


	13. Change of Plans

Cat POV

Flag…flag…flag…flag…empty!

It's the American version of Duck Duck Goose. Spot the places without the American flag on 4th of July weekend. Today's the second, and people are already having amazing barbecues. Alex had one last night, and I'm surprised I'm ever eating again. I haven't eaten since.

Tonight we drove back to LA and are going to a gigantic party, with like 500 people! Including everyone from Hollywood Arts!

I'm still mad at Alex for making me miss Robbie's birthday a week ago. He hasn't texted me back since!

"You still mad?" He asked, cracking his charming half smile.

"Yeah." I reply grumpily.

I'm not getting charmed today.

I asked Jade what I should do with his present, and she said drop by his house and give it to him. Well, I did that, but he was taking a shower so I left it on the kitchen table and left. I had to get back to my apartment and do some laundry before going back to Santa Barbara.

"Why? He's just a friend sweetheart. He'll have other birthdays."

"How do you know? And I told you, he's done a lot for me this year, and I couldn't even go say happy fucking birthday to him thanks to you."

"It's not that important."

"Alex, you don't get it. It's not me, it's my friends. You have one shot to impress them after you made me no show his party. You mess up here and all you'll ever get is a cold shoulder."

"Cat, if it's really that bad, maybe they aren't your true friends?"

"Shut up Alex. You've never even met them before. You are going to be all nice and polite tonight and apologize about missing the party. AND you are going to be friends with Robbie. Understood?" I ordered.

"Fine, fine…I'll be the perfect boyfriend."

"Good, we're here."

I'm thrilled to see my friends. I haven't seen anyone since we wrapped up the shopping for Robbie's surprise party. Which apparently was a big success according to Jade and Beck.

They said they wanted to talk to me though, which has got me worried. It's not me they should be mad at! It's Alex!

"_Where are they?" I screeched, darting around._

_I cannot be late to his party. He could wake up early and they'll have to start without me._

_I feverishly start going thru my stuff looking thru my keys, tossing bras, shirts, shorts, jeans, everything aside in a frantic search._

_They'll never let me live it down._

"_What are you looking for in such a hurry?" Alex's deep, soothing voice asked behind me._

"_I can't find my car keys."_

_He quickly looked upset. "You really think you're going to that party now don't you?"_

"_Yeah! I am, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."_

_I'm serious, he could have bells on, but I have to do this. I owe him._

"_I've already done it. So no need for past tense."_

"_What? What are you talking about?" I yelped, turning to face him._

"_Nothing, c'mon, let's get back in bed…"_

_He grabbed me by the hand and started pulling me to his chest._

"_NO!" I push him away hard, send him stumbling back. "Where are my keys?"_

"_Cat, this guy you told me about isn't everything. You can hang here and be with me all day, like you love."_

"_But he's bailed me out of so many bad situations! You wouldn't have met me if it wasn't for him! He was the guy with me at the pizza place!"_

_Alex's facial expression changed. "He looked like a douche."_

_How can he say that?_

"_So? He made sure everything was taken care of when I was in a mental hospital for two weeks! I could have lost everything! But he didn't let that happen!"_

"_Sweetheart, anybody who cares about you would have stepped in; the fact that it was him doesn't make you owe him."_

"_Where are my keys?"_

"_Not telling you."_

"_AAAARRRRGH!" I yelled, marching past him and started tearing his room apart._

_Until I saw the clock. Jade told me to be there by 7 or they were going without me. She voted that I stay at my apartment last night and avoid the hour and 45 minute drive back._

_It's 6._

_I'm not going to make it._

_My heart sinks thru the floor._

_My boyfriend made me miss Robbie's birthday._

_I pull out my phone and text Jade._

"_Alex won't let me leave, so I can't come back. Plz tell him I'm very very very sorry and give him a hug for me."_

"_You done ripping my room apart?" Alex asked, rubbing my shoulders. I whip around and push him._

"_I missed it!You made me miss his freaking party you jerk! Why do you have to be so inconsiderate! I'm not sleeping with you for a week!"_

"_Cat, it's not that big a deal. He's not going to be mad."_

"_You don't know him. You don't know any of my friends."_

"_C'mon…" Alex grabbed my hand again._

"_NO! I'm going to watch TV." I marched off, tears streaming down my face._

Robbie POV

"Sorry we missed your birthday Robbie, we didn't know until after the fact." Lola smiled at me, and Maddie appeared from nowhere to hug my leg.

"Happy birthday!"

"Aww thanks Maddie." I smiled at her.

Everyone laughed.

"How's it going fuzzy head?" Zoey asked, walking past me from behind and rubbing my hair.

"Fuzzy head?" I asked.

"That's my name, don't you go stealing it." Chase said, looking at me threateningly, but then cracking into a smile.

"Ok, I won't steal fuzzy head."

"Curly Sue?" Jade threw out.

"Oh yeah, that works." Logan said, causing Quinn to whack his arm.

"Don't be so mean."

"It's not mean, he has curly hair!"

"He's not a girl." She snapped back at him.

"You ever considered a new style Robbie?" Lola asked, looking me up and down.

"Huh?" I replied.

"The look you've got now is fine; don't get me wrong, I was just asking if you've considered a new haircut, new clothes…"

"Sounds expensive." I copped out. I don't want a new haircut. Or a new style. I like this. I like Robbie.

"Says the famous author." Tori rolled her eyes.

"You want me to get a makeover?" I asked.

"No, but money isn't a problem you have."

"C'mon Robbie…" Zoey smiled at me. "I know a couple of great hair stylists, and I can help you pick out some new clothes too."

"Maybe, let me think about it." I appeased her. Maybe some like jeans and shoes. Not my hair.

"Ok, you don't have to go radical or over the top or anything, whatever you are comfortable with." She smiled again at me.

"What's wrong with Robbie's look now?" Michael asked, coming back from the grill with two burgers, handing one to Chase.

"I don't know." Chase admitted.

"Then why change what's not broken?" Beck asked.

"Why are we going around in circles?" Quinn asked. Michael and Logan shrugged.

"I dunno." Chase replied, mouth full.

"Just an idea." Zoey said.

"Hi!" A familiar voice said happily.

In front of me, Zoey and Chase's eyebrows went up, and Tori and Jade's eyes both steeled over.

Who else can cause such a reaction?

"Hey Cat." Beck smiled.

I turned just in time for Cat to pipe up. "Hey Beck, this is my boyfriend, Alex."

"Hi." He smiled.

_Yep, same dude from the pizza parlor._

Cat systematically introduced Alex to everyone, including the PCA bunch.

"Alex, this is Robbie."

"Nice to meet you Alex." I gave a half smile, extending my hand. He took it, but not convincingly.

"Where's Andre?" Cat asked, looking around for him.

"He got called up to the turntables." Chase replied.

"Ooh! I'm going to go say hi. I'll be right back." She smiled and dashed off, leaving Alex alone.

For a half second I felt bad for him. Cat just completely ditched him in a bad situation. I already know Tori, Jade and Beck are sympathetic to me, and Zoey got most of the story from Jade and didn't look pleased. I don't know if the others know.

"So Alex…you going to college?" Lola asked.

"Yeah, UC Santa Barbara." He replied.

"Major?" Beck questioned.

"Oceanographic Studies."

_Not a gigantic field. Try barista at Skybucks._

"That sounds cool, why Oceanographic studies?" Zoey asked.

"I've always liked the ocean and fish ever since I was a kid, so I thought it'd be cool to do that."

"You worried about the increasing effect of man-made pollutants on the habitat on the mid ocean ridges are you?" Quinn piped up. Behind her, Logan and Michael closed their eyes in embarrassment.

"We haven't covered it yet so I really don't know." He confessed.

"Have you taken many classes for it yet?" Tori asked.

"Just basics."

"Are you thinking commercial or ecological studies?" Quinn piped up again.

Damn, talking about putting the clampers on him.

"Quinn…" Logan hissed at her, looking uncomfortable.

"Commercial. Don't really care about the environmental effects right now."

Straddling the line.

_Just like Cat._

Quinn frowned and opened her mouth to retort, but—

"I'm back, sorry I was so long!" Cat squeaked out, barreling into Alex and sending him one step to Lola, who flinched.

"It's ok." Zoey said diplomatically.

"Hey Cat, can we talk to you for a sec?" Jade asked.

Cat suddenly looked a bit nervous, but shrugged it off. "Sure."

"We'll let you talk, you guys gonna be ok?" Zoey asked Alex and I.

Great, they boxed him in. With me.

I don't want to speak to him.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." I replied, and Alex nodded.

Then it was just us.

"So…" I said, trying to think of a way to get out of it.

"Food I guess." He said.

"Yeah."

I followed him and grabbed a burger and some smoked sausage. Everything looks delicious, but _someone's_ kind of an appetite suppressor.

"Any idea why that girl was so hostile?" He spoke up.

Quinn.

"She's a member of Greenpeace." I lied. I think she is, but not entirely sure. She is big on the environment though.

"Damn, wish I'd known that. I would have been more gentle."

I shrugged. I would have done the same, but then again, I wouldn't come out so strong on something that volatile in the first place.

"Why are you guys here?"

"Andre, the guy in the dreads is DJ'ing and he invited us."

"This is kind of high class."

Again, he left me with no options for a reply. He's not great for conversation.

Simply a bounce buddy.

Why Cat goes for that I don't know, but it doesn't seem to fit her. At least that's what I see from my point of view.

"You think they're talking to her about what happened the other day?"

He asked me that right after I had taken a bite. Terrible timing. I took the time to chew. Which apparently was too long for him.

"When she missed _your_ party?"

"Don't know, they could be asking her about her car."

He gave me a 'Really dude?' look and rolled his eyes.

"Did you put them up to it? Cause you could have asked her yourself and not been a coward."

"Whoa. Watch it buddy. I wasn't going to bring it up. And they're doing this of their volition. I had nothing to do with it." I said defensively.

"But you knew of it."

"So?"

"You could have asked her yourself." He said darkly.

"I don't have an issue with her. They set everything up with her, and she didn't get to come."

"You're speaking carefully."

"I don't know all the details." I lied. I know what the hell happened.

"What did you hear?"

"You didn't let her come."

"Then you have all the facts." He said bluntly.

Looks like my smokescreen failed. I'm trying not to start something.

I diplomatically took a bite.

"Why's she so attached to you anyway?"

Full of questions for sure. I'm on his nerves. Or nerve. He's so dumb he might not have one.

"Not sure." I answer diplomatically again.

I have no idea what he knows, or whether he knows how far back we go, so I'm going to have him do the legwork for me.

If he wants to do it.

"She said something about a brief stay in a mental hospital, and you covered her bills or something like that."

It was more than brief at last check. And he doesn't know anything else I think. He seems to lack the ability to hold back information to use it against me.

"Yeah, but that isn't much."

"She's my girl you know." He said bluntly.

"Dude. _I KNOW. _Ok? I don't want Cat." I lied thru my teeth. Again. "She's all yours."

"Let me handle her wellbeing ok? You're officially off Samaritan duty for her."

"Ok…nice talking to you." I smiled, getting to my feet. He's on the verge of coming at me. Which isn't good for me. I just lied and played diplomat the entire time.

At least I know he has a problem with me now.

I meander aimlessly thru the crowd, throwing my empty plate away at some point before—

"Look who the cat dragged in."

That voice is familiar.

I turned on my heel to see Stephanie smirking at me and leaning on the railing of the porch.

"Steph?"

"Hey you." She smiled, taking a step forward.

"Hi." I replied, as she hugged me. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Don't know why I got invited here, but here I am." She smiled.

Is today the day of leaving me with no reply? Seriously people, give me some options.

"I saw you with that guy. He didn't look happy."

"Yeah…" I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Who IS he anyway?"

"Cat's boyfriend."

She quickly looked embarrassed before saying "Really now…"

"Uh huh."

"Why's he mad?"

"He thinks I'm after Cat." I monotoned.

I should feel worse about telling her this. After all, that's why we broke up. Well, one of a couple of reasons.

"And by your tone I assume you're not."

"Nope."

"What'd he say?"

"Stay away from her in a way that intimated that he'd come after me if I tried to do anything for her."

She frowned pointedly. "You didn't do anything though."

"Eh, people seem to have a beef with me today. Don't know what it is." I shrugged. "Doesn't bug me."

"Sorry though." She looked sad.

"Thanks."

"Anyway, it's awesome talking to you. Want to do lunch sometime?" She asked, coming in for another hug.

"Sure, I'll call you."

"Sounds good. Talk to you then Robbie." She smiled, turning and walking away towards the grill.

I turned the other way to see Tori, Jade, Andre and Beck all standing, not looking pleased, Beck having his arms crossed with Cat gesturing.

_That doesn't look like it's going well._

(A/N: Hope you guys like this little twist. My little gift to you guys. When I was putting this chapter together, this literally popped into my head around when Alex started talking to Robbie. Not originally planned, but I like it. Gives me future rope to yank him around with lol.)

Stephanie POV

I slowly make my way towards Robbie's friend. He obviously is smoke screening me and him too. If I had to guess, he likes Cat again.

I think it's about time I help him out.

I peek behind me to make sure Cat isn't looking this way. I don't want her to see the start of this. Me deliberately walking to him.

She'd immediately know Robbie put me up to it. Which isn't what's going on.

"Hey there." I say flirtatiously, moving my hair behind my ear.

He looked over to me and immediately saw my shorts, which are appropriate, but sexy at the same time.

"Hi, I'm Alex."

"Stephanie." I extended my hand, and he took it weakly.

Clearly he's not used to shaking hands. His makes him look weak.

Which means he's a douche. Advantage: Robbie.

"Looks good, what are you having?" I asked, sitting very close to him.

"Nothing much, ribs and brisket."

"Can I have a bite?" I pushed, reaching over him for a fork, and showing a little skin for his benefit.

His parents should have nicknamed him fiddle. Very playable. And easy to control. Here's some cleavage, now give me food.

"Sure…"

"So," I asked, popping a piece into my mouth. "Whatcha doing here?"

"I got invited."

"By who?"

"Her." He gestured to a blonde with a little girl Robbie is talking to.

"You guys together?"

"Nope…"

"Ok. Well it was nice to meet you, I think I'm going to grab some of that brisket, that was delicious. Thank you."

"Nice meeting you too."

"Ooh! Before I forget…" I dig in my purse and write my number on some paper, fold it and hand it to him.

"For you." I smile, adding a sexy wink onto it and walk towards the grill.

Those ribs were good. My diet can go to hell for one night.

Robbie POV

Man, Zoey is awesome. Chase is one lucky dude. Easily one of the top five people I've met other than the guys from Hollywood Arts. Number one is Jade, who I say I met before HA, despite our hiatus. The entire PCA crowd is cool and had said multiple times that they're there if I need them.

"Hey, you look out of it." Jade startled me. I thought they were still chatting with Cat.

"To be blunt, I'd like to leave." I state, as everyone except Cat show themselves.

"What are you thinking?"

"I was going to go chill with my parents."

"Anyone with a good excuse Cat can't question?" Tori asked, looking to Beck and Andre.

"More back trouble? I dunno." Andre shrugged.

"Don't look at me, I stink at lying." Beck said defensively.

"They actually want you for dinner this time." Jade snapped, looking happy.

"We have a winner."

"Thanks for covering for me." I said, knocking fists with Beck and Andre.

"Anytime. We'll talk about Alex later." Jade said, as Tori hugged me.

"Ok, see ya."

I sneak off the premises quickly and head to my parents. This is not how I saw my night transpiring.

I hop out of my car and open the front door, to see my parents in the middle of Chinese.

"Great, bad timing. Story of my night." I smirked, as my mom hopped up and came to hug me.


	14. Cold as Ice

"OW!"

Great. Exactly how you want to wake up, by having your sleeping companion yell "OW!"

"Robbie…" She groaned. "You kicked me in the thigh…"

_Guess I have to answer for this._

"Sorry. Didn't mean it." I sighed, rolling over to see Jade with a playful frown on her face.

"Still hurts." She pouted.

"What do you want me to do? I don't want to be all inappropriate…" I teased. She knows I'm lying my ass off.

"Hug me."

I gently and teasingly hugged her. She hugged back aggressively, pushing herself into me.

"Cat better hurry the hell up or I'm going to take you." She smiled.

I know she's joking. This whole 'Friends with benefits' thing is only until she gets with Beck, and/or I get with Cat.

"Aww, thanks Jadelynn." I smiled, lightly kissing her neck and causing her to stifle a groan.

"You bastard…"

I laughed.

Apparently Cat and Alex didn't linger long after I left on the second, which was around a week ago. She hasn't made a reappearance and has finally stopped texting me with those awkward conversation starters. I know she wants to talk to me, but just the thought of Alex makes me a little sick, so it's kind of hard to talk to her.

Jade said that Cat said repeatedly she was extremely sorry for missing my party and wanted to make it up to me, and that was validated by Beck and Tori saying the same thing. Jade also told me that she wanted to talk to me, and was pestering them about letting her go talk to me when I was chatting amicably with Alex, but finally stopped after Jade revealed I gave her birthday present to the Salvation Army.

I'm sorry, I don't want it. I don't even know what it was. She probably asked for his opinion on it and probably listened to it.

My mind zoomed back to the present with Jade massaging my stomach.

"Aww, thanks." I smiled at her.

"You like that?"

"Of course, any guy likes a massage from a gorgeous girl." I replied.

She simply laughed and put her head on my collarbone.

"Can they like make a pillow out of you? You are so soft." She sighed contentedly.

"Are you calling me fat?" I joked. I've heard this before. I'm a good pillow.

"Nope, comfy."

"I still think you are."

"Whatever, I'm getting up." She sighed, crawling off me and getting to her feet.

About halfway across the room she whipped around. "HAH! Caught you staring…"

"I wasn't staring." I reply defensively.

"I don't mind…I'm quite flattered actually." She smiled at me.

Well, maybe I was staring a little bit. After all, name a guy who wouldn't at a girl just getting out of bed with you?

That's right, you can't.

Next thing I knew she had perched next to me and had me in a soft kiss.

"Love you." She whispered in my ear.

"You too girl."

Finally, she did proceed into the shower, and I spent the next few minutes trying to think of the smell on my sheets until I realize that it's Jade. Kind of like Cat a few weeks back when I got from Seattle. You can just smell _her._

Nice smell.

"_So wake up the members of my nation, it's your time to be. There's no chance unless you take one, and it's time to see the brighter side of every situation. Some things are meant to be so give me your best and leave the rest to me…"_

That's Carly's ringtone.

Well, not hers specifically. Freddie, Sam and Carly share the same ringtone.

I scramble across my bed and grab my phone.

"Hello?" I ask sleepily, despite the fact I'm completely awake.

"Robbie?"

Freddie.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"Nothing much, did I wake you up?" He asked, sounding kind of worried.

"Nah, I don't know why I sounded so sleepy there. What's going on?"

"Well, call it a role reversal."

"Huh?"

"The girls and I want to escape to LA before school starts and see how Tori and everyone is doing, and try to relax. You have a problem with that?"

"Nah man! Sounds great! When are you thinking of stopping by?"

"Soon, be there by the end of this week. Carly and Spence are getting on each other's nerves kind of."

"Really? They seemed to always be getting along great." I said, surprised.

"Yeah, they usually get along, but they have their disagreements like anyone."

"You are so politically correct good sir."

He laughed. "I try. With Sam around you kind of have to get good at it or have your head ripped off."

"I hope it really isn't that bad."

"It isn't…most of the time. Anyway, we good for the trip?" He asked, sounding happy.

"We are, sounds good man."

"Ok, I'll email you the ticket info."

"Sounds good, talk to you later then."

"Bye man." He said. I clicked off the phone to see a very exposed Jade coming out of the bathroom.

"Jade?" I asked, trying not to annoy her. If she's comfortable ok…but…I'm right here.

"Hey Robbie, who were you talking to?"

"Freddie, uh…" I stutter, trying to think of a good way to ask her to cover up. At least her back is to me.

"What?" She asked, turning around.

"Oh…" She said, figuring it out. She then strutted to the light switch, turning it off, then closing the door.

"Jade?"

"Lie down. I need to tell you something."

I did as instructed and she hopped on top of me under the covers.

"Listen Robbie, remember when I told you that if everything didn't work out, I would get with you?"

"Uhh…vaguely."

"Well, a lot has happened since then. Cat fell for you, you kind of fell for her, and we know how that ended up. I need to tell you something though."

"Ok."

"I love you. Like I would marry you right now and let you pull the goalie on me if Beck wasn't in the picture. I fucking love you. I just want you to know that I'll always be here for you."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. She's scaring the crap out of me right now.

"I had a nightmare that you got in a car accident and left Cat and I both heartbroken."

"Wait…Cat? She has Alex."

"I really don't think they're going to last much longer. Plus if that did happen, you are the most real love Cat's ever had, hence the heartbreak."

"So why are you telling me this?"

"Just so you know that at least one girl in the world would marry you if all else fails ok?"

"Ok. Anything else?" I smiled, causing her to smile in return.

"Yeah…" She grabbed my hand and put in on her chest. "Kiss me please."

And…yeah. You know how this ends. We ended up collapsing, her on top of me onto my pillows.

"Thank you." She smiled happily.

"Of course. You know I love you too right?"

She quickly and aggressively pulled me under one more time.

"I do now." She smiled, bursting into laughter.

"So what are your plans for today?" I asked.

"Well, I was going to hang here and record a song or two, but now I'm going to go ahead and wash your sheets too."

"Thanks for that."

"Yeah, don't want this hot mess cooling off. What about you?"

"Running some errands for my parents."

"Like?" She asked, giving me a weird look.

"Shopping mostly. They're kind of scaring me. Now that they're empty nesters they aren't doing much. I don't mind but…"

"You are worried about their health. What about your sister?" Jade told me.

"Hiding from me."

"Still? Shouldn't she be hiding from your dad? He's the one that told her to repay the money."

"No, she's daddy's little girl. Plus if the topic comes up she deftly changes it." I sigh, getting to my feet.

"Bitch. I'm sorry Rob."

"It's ok." I shrug off. What am I supposed to say?

"No, it's really not. You are such a awesome guy and you keep finding yourself in terrible situations. I just hope it works out."

"Me too." I sigh, hopping right in the shower.

Cat POV

"Thanks for coming with me Alex." I smile at him. For once, I'm in control. I'm driving my SUV to my apartment to do some laundry.

Tomorrow we're planning on hanging out here, playing a little putt putt or the water park or something fun. Santa Barbara is kind of lifeless in terms of entertainment that is legal.

"Of course sweetheart. Thanks for letting me tag along." He smiled.

"No problem! You've let me stay at your apartment so much; why not let you stay with me? It's only fair." I squeaked, pulling into my parking space.

He beat me to the back and we each grabbed one of the laundry baskets.

"Geez, never seen so much laundry in my life." He grumbled, but smiling.

"Thanks for helping me." I say, leading him up the stairs and unlocking the door.

Everything is as I left it, pristine and neat.

"Two down, four to go…" Alex joked, cracking a smile again.

"Shut up…" I whacked his arm, causing him to smirk again.

Down, and back up again. This is tiring. At least I have someone to keep me company while I do all this laundry.

"Four down, two to go…"

I whack his arm again.

This time Alex leads the way, and—

_AAAHHH!_

He was just steps from the door, and something just hooked me with its elbow.

I look up to see a man in a mask, with two others darting around, one duct taping my mouth shut.

"AA—mmmmph!" I scream, causing Alex to turn around.

"Click Click."

"Wallet." The man holding me said, in a Hispanic accent.

_We're getting mugged. Oh my god. Please just let them take my money and leave us alone. Please please please._

Alex slowly took his wallet out of his back pocket and threw it at my feet.

_I'm not going to let them just control me._

I quickly kick it into the middle of my balcony, right where Robbie dropped his phone and it fell all the way to the bottom.

"Perra estupida." One of them said, roughly throwing me to the railing. I try to put my arms up to brace myself, but they've taped them to my sides. I go face first into the railing.

The pain wants me to scream until my throat is raw. God, this has to be the worst I've ever been in pain.

"Cat!" Alex yelled.

The head guy said something else quickly in Spanish and aimed his gun at Alex.

"You go get wallet that woman kick."

Alex put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Ok."

_Don't give in to them you fucking idiot! They threw me against a railing! DO SOMETHING! And don't get shot!_

They can't kill him. They won't. They just want our money…right?

Alex walked down the stairs slowly, making no sudden movements, grabbed his wallet and walked back up. He calmly handed it back to the head guy.

"Atarlo."

The two other guys sprung forward and quickly tied up Alex as well.

Suddenly, the leader guy pocketed Alex's wallet and started going thru my purse. After a moment or two, he found my billfold and pocketed that as well.

Then he started to me.

I started kicking, screaming against the duct tape.

His hands are so slimy. I think I could take a thousand showers and not get rid of his feeling. Up and down he goes. Places he shouldn't go he chuckles, then goes there.

I feel so dirty. So…violated.

"Puso en el interior."

One of the other guys threw me over his shoulder and started feeling me up as well and roughly threw me onto my bed.

I hear two more sets of footsteps, then the door abruptly shuts.

_Alex?_

He's finally doing something. Locked us in here. Hopefully he can find something to hold them off with until he can call the—

Cops.

The three men suddenly step into the room, speaking rapidly in Spanish.

_They're not Alex._

I start screaming again, still muffled by the tape. One of them points to the TV by my bed, and the other takes it.

_They're robbing me too._

Then they leave the room, letting my struggle on my bed with my legs and arms tied. All I achieve is exhausting myself.

_ALEX! Where ARE YOU?_

They're robbing me, while I'm in my bedroom. Most of the stuff isn't even mine. It's either Robbie's or his parents, both have given me a ton of electronic stuff.

The door shuts multiple times.

They've been gone for a while. I want to go out there, but I don't want them to see I've gotten out of my room and I can't even get out of the tape. So I'm kind of stuck.

Suddenly the door shuts quietly this time.

Then they're back. The head one says something in Spanish; the others nod and then shut the door.

_Uh oh._

This cannot be happening.

Not to me.

I don't care who saves me at this point. Tori, My parents, Jade, Robbie's parents, my neighbors, who are Hispanic, Beck, Andre, Robbie, Laken, Stephanie…

SOMEBODY HELP ME!

He slowly makes his way to me, this time slipping his gross hand under my shirt. I can't help but shudder. This is grounds for sending me back to Methodist. I'm going to have nightmares about this for months.

The moment he gets close enough for me to kick, I try. But I miss terribly, and the momentum of the kick takes me off my bed and causes me to faceplant not only my bedside table, but the metal handles as well.

I don't even black out, just more pain as he hoists me back up and cuts the tape holding my legs together.

_Kick. Kick him in the goddamn face._

I can't. All my energy has already been spent fruitlessly.

Then he takes my shirt off. And my bra.

Oh god.

_Why can't I just black out?_

I'm gonna go back to Methodist for this. No getting around it.

Then he hits the lights.

AAAHHH!

Robbie POV

"Hey mom." I smile, the second she opens the door and the second before she's hugging me.

"Nice to see youuu." She said, hugging me tightly.

"I only left two days ago mom, no need to strangle me."

"I know…it is just quiet around here during the day."

"Sorry about that. I know you miss me."

"Thanks sweetheart." She smiled, letting me inside.

"So…where do I start?" I asked, looking around for the list she usually keeps when I come to help out.

"Here's the list." She took a notepad out of a kitchen drawer.

_Home Supply_

_Gran's Office Retail_

_Grocery store._

Doesn't seem so bad. I flip the page to see the items designated out by location.

"You're so detailed." I smiled at my mom, who was pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Well, I don't want to waste your time. You always are busy."

"It's ok mom, I have no problem doing this for you guys. Where's Dad?"

"Work."

"I thought he had today off?" I ask, glancing at her in surprise.

"He did, but his partner wanted to ask him some stuff and he decided to just go in."

"Did he dress up?" I jokingly asked. Dad doesn't go in without being in full suit and tie.

Mom however, chuckled. "No actually. He just put on a collared shirt and jeans."

"No way…"

"Yep. I don't think he was going to stay the whole day."

"Ok…" I say, starting to the door.

"Be safe sweetheart."

"I will."

Cat POV

The nurse quietly walked in and handed me a plastic cup, full to the brim with water, like I asked.

Everyone is being very very kind and quiet. Which is nice. Honestly…I can't believe this is happening. I…can't say the word that happened, but I don't really have to.

After…that, I just lied there and cried for what seemed like forever until something clicked into my head that said simply 'Get to Your Phone.'

I fell off my bed, bruising my knee pretty bad but slowly crawled to the living room, where I saw the paintings, TV, basically anything of value was gone. But my purse just sat in the farthest corner of the room.

Eventually, I sent off a text to Jade saying 'Help. In trouble.'

Then I had the stroke of genius to get to the kitchen and grab the scissors. I missed twice, painfully cutting my wrists both times, but got the tape off my arms then ripped it off my mouth.

The second I grabbed my phone again to call 911 Jade burst in, crowbar in hand. She suddenly dropped it upon seeing the carnage.

And now I'm here in the hospital. They've run…kits on me and blood tests and bandaged up my wrists and now I'm trying to stop my hands from shaking like an old person when I'm sipping my water.

I don't really know how to feel. I mean…I just got violated and humiliated in my own apartment. I just know I don't want to go back. Never again. They can get my clothes out and torch the place. But not without the pictures and my diary and…

Ugh. My head hurts. The doctor said I had a mild concussion and the onset of PTSD. That really scares me. I know what PTSD is because of the wars going on. Those poor soldiers have really been messed up. I don't want to be messed up. I just got out of Methodist because of a meltdown. I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK! This is NOT my FAULT!

I just want a hug. From Jade, Tori, Robbie's parents…somebody.

But not Alex.

He can go to hell. He ran. I needed him…and he ran. He wasn't there. HE RAN!

I'm done with him.

I need to stop thinking about him. The doctor asked me to keep my thoughts happy, and my mind clear. He said I'd feel better that way. I plan on doing that and follow doctor's orders like a good girl. Unlike Robbie, who seems to take doctors' orders as a personal challenge.

Oh he frustrates me. But all I want is to hug him and cry. Anyone for that matter. I—

"Knock Knock."

"Come in." I call out softly. My throat is incredibly sore.

Alex poked his head in and immediately closed his eyes. "Thank god you're alright Cat. Thank god."

"What are you doing here? I don't want you here. You can leave." I snap.

"Cat…what are you talking about? I'm happy your alive sweetheart." He moved to touch my cheek, but I viciously slapped it away.

"No. You ran. I needed you unlike I've ever needed anyone ever before and you weren't there to help me, to protect me. YOU RAN!" I screamed, the pain in my throat unbearable.

"Cat, I didn't run! I went as fast as I could to the cops, but by the time I found them and got back to you, there were already cops there and you were gone." He said defensively, looking scared.

"LIAR!" I cried, tears falling down my cheeks. "They raped me and you ran! How could you? I loved you ALEX! I needed you!"

"Sweetheart…" He said quietly, looking mortified.

"How can you do that and then lie to me? I HATE you! Get OUT!"

"But—"

"We're done Alex. Get OUT!"

Quickly a policeman in full uniform came into the room.

"Everything alright ma'am?"

"No sir, get him out of here please." I said.

He quickly had him in cuffs and was leading him out of the room. An army of nurses followed.

"Ms. Valentine?"

"We need to run one more test on you. Then we're going to start allowing visitors if that's ok with you, they're already getting anxious."

Robbie POV

I Hate Shopping. This trip was for wood for a patio Dad wants to build, plus additional supplies, printer paper and ink, and now groceries and it has been brutal. So excruciating.

Got milk…OJ…sausage…parsley…tomatoes…pickles next.

Yuck. Pickles. Poor cucumber.

Aisle 5.

Thank you helpful list thingy on the cart where little kids sit. Saved me 5 minutes of meandering.

"Oooh, sometimes, I got a good feeling…"

That would be Jade. Wonder what's been going on with her.

"Hello?"

…

…

_No…_

…

"CRASH!"

I look down to see the jar of pickles I was holding shattered on the ground. I look back up to the whole aisle staring at me.

…

…

I abandon cart and head out the door basically in a full sprint. I don't know how fast I drove but I got to Integris in 5 minutes. Thankfully there were no cops.

Again, I sprint to the help desk, where they direct me to the third floor.

_Hurry up elevator…._

Ding!

The second I hop out of the elevator the waiting room hops up. Jade, mascara half wiped off tackled me into a hug.

"Thank goodness you're here…"

Next my parents were hugging me tightly. Then Tori, Then Beck.

Finally, I got to sit down.

"Is it as bad as you said. Is it really that bad?" I asked Jade mainly, but was open to anyone who had the answer.

"Yeah…I just got her text and it said "Help. In trouble." I hurried there and found her, beat to hell and her place wrecked. I called the cops and brought her here."

"Was it really a gang? Or did her mind create that illusion in place of Alex?" I asked.

"No, according to the cops it was a cartel that infiltrated that part of LA and recommended we move her away from there as soon as possible." Dad replied, looked dead.

"You can put her at my place temporarily, or at least her stuff. I still have too much room."

"We'll see Robbie. What we're really waiting on now is the pregnancy test results."

Oh god.

Cat, mom to a baby with a father she doesn't want to remember.

Please…

That simply cannot happen.

"Hey Rob." Andre sighed behind me, snapping me from my stupor.

"Hi."

"What did you think?" Tori asked.

"She's in and out. She mainly hugged me."

"Us too." Dad sighed.

"You guys have seen her?" I asked, surprised.

"Yep. Everyone but you."

"You can go if you want. She's asked about you." Jade gestured to the desk.

"Ok…I think I'll do that."

I get to my feet and walk to the reception desk.

"Hi…can I see Cat Valentine please?"

"Name?"

"Robbie Shapiro."

"ID please."

I fish the ID out of my wallet and hand it to her. After a moment she handed it back to me.

"Keep it out, she's got a guard that will want to see that as well." She replied, standing up.

She walked for what seemed like forever until she reached a door with a policeman reading a book.

My book.

_The epitome of irony._

"ID please."

I handed it to him, swallowing my comment about the book. I shouldn't be happy, but I'm thrilled.

"Ok, you can go in. Knock first though."

I walked for a foot or two, and tried to take a calming breath.

"Knock Knock."

"Come in!" A rough voice called out.

Cat's voice.

_God, how bad is she beaten up?_

The second I saw her I got my answer:

Way worse that when Michael and Colton came after us.

Half of her face is like…purple, obscured by ice packs. The other half looks scared to death. Both wrists have bandages to her elbow and she is slumped over.

Beat to fucking hell. And back again.

Just like her.

I reach for something to say, but "Cat…" is all that comes out.

She's a wreck.

"Hi…" She squeaks out, voice still rough.

"I…"

I can't speak. This is absolutely overwhelming. It looks like they…

Well…they did do…that. So I guess on some level I'm not surprised. But…this is Cat. Bouncy, bubbly, beautiful Cat.

The girl I can't seem to get out of my heart.

"You ok?" She asked, looking nervous.

"I—…I'm so sorry sweetheart. I…I wish I would have heard before now."

"It's ok…can you come here?"

I lightly walked towards her and sat on the unbruised side, which is also the side she's lying on, which helps matters.

I instinctively move to take her hand, but stop midway and retreat.

"You look like you don't know what to do." She said softly, eyes wide.

"I…I really don't. I have no clue Cat. I just don't want to mess up."

"It's ok. I know you love me, so act natural. If you accidently hurt me, it'll be ok."

I quickly take her hand and run my thumb over it. She's clammy. But she immediately grabs my hand in a vice grip.

"How was your day?" She asked, glancing up at me.

"I…" I racked my brain, looking for something positive.

"I talked to Freddie. They want to come down soon."

"Really?" She perked up. "When?"

"End of the week, but I'll tell them that needs to move back."

She quickly looked downcast.

"Cat." I said quickly. "Don't feel bad sunshine. This isn't your fault at all. There isn't anything you could have done to change this."

"I could have not trusted Alex so much." She croaked out.

Jade texted about Alex. Said Cat told her he ran away at some point, and she already yelled at him and broke up with him.

If things couldn't get any worse.

"It's not your fault cat. Hindsight is 20/20."

"Robbie? Can you hold me?" She sobbed, moving to get out of bed. I quickly stepped forward and scooped her into my arms.

She quickly was clinging to me and sobbing, albeit controllably. "Don't leave me please Robbie…please."

"Of course not baby. I'm right here."

Jeez she's small. She's like curled into my chest and I can easily carry her around. I always forget how small she is.

Suddenly, she moved to remove the ice pack.

"Cat, that's not a good idea."

"But it hurts." She whined.

"Fine."

The moment she got it off I winced. Purple like the Vikings color and Blue like the Giants.

Beat to fucking hell indeed.

"Robbie...if I'm pregnant I don't want the baby. I don't know which of the three is the father. Plus…"

I really don't want to have this conversation with her, and not now especially. But I won't stop her. She's on the edge, understandably.

"Cat, what do you mean?"

"I mean adoption. I really hope I'm not pregnant. But if I am…" She clung to me tighter.

"I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Thank you Robbie. I don't know what I'd do with out you."

"You're never have to find out ok? Promise." I kissed her forehead.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"Can I move in with you? At least temporarily. I…don't want to be without you."

"Sure. I can start getting your stuff at my place later tonight after the cops finish."

"Can you keep holding me?"

I nodded, and she snuggled close to me. I didn't speak, just rubbing her hair and kissing her forehead. After a few minutes she began to cry again, until she finally fell asleep.

In my lap the whole time.


	15. Innocent

The soft sound of the shower running is kind of a nice morning greeting.

Kind of.

"Ugh." I groan, turning over and shoving my face into my pillow. The last 96 hours have been exhausting. I feel like it's my duty to sleep all day.

In review: Cat's moved out of her apartment and into my place. I'm working on a small surprise I hope she'll like. If not…that's why I bought the white paint.

And most importantly, she's not pregnant. Thank goodness.

My mom was initially suspicious of the findings, saying it takes a couple of weeks to get a reliable result. Cat's doctor said that they have made many advancements in pregnancy testing and took my mom aside to explain it to her. When she came back, all she said was "Cat's not pregnant."

Now mentally…the jury's still out on that one. She got out yesterday, and she asked me to take her straight here, where she immediately curled up on the couch and sobbed while watching TV.

Interestingly enough, she's got a rebellious streak in her. She refuses to take to pain medication, saying she can't think and wants to be able to hold a decent conversation with me, despite my protests to the contrary.

She's an angel though. I fell asleep yesterday and awoke to the smell of Cat making BLT's for dinner. She absolutely refuses to let this get her down. She keeps on saying she'll be a good house guest, and is following thru on that for the one night she's been here.

I half thought she would want to sleep with me, since she has been hugging me a lot and kind of touchy, but nope. Last night around 11 she hugged me, I kissed her hair and told her I was here if she needed me and she marched off to Camp Cat.

I feel bad for being so happy. I mean, the circumstances are horrendous, but she's staying with me again, and isn't a complete wreck.

The iCarly bunch…not so much. They took the news of what happened to Cat with surprising horror. They immediately delayed their trip two weeks, pushing them right up to when University of Washington starts, and Carly and Freddie have to go back to school, but they wanted to give us time to get things together, and still provide support and a morale boost to Cat, so they pushed it back.

Suddenly, the water cut off.

Cat's ready to emerge. She used my shower because I have some settings that allow her to clean up, but not bruise her anymore. Her face was a bit better, but her arms were really sore yesterday when she tried for half a second to shower in the guest shower.

That scared the crap out of me. I was just pouring some coffee and suddenly I heard her yelp in pain, then start to sob. I burst into her bathroom to find her protecting her arms and bawling. I don't know how she managed to grab her towel, but she did cover up right before I got there. I essentially forced her into my shower and showed her the special settings to use, and she was cheerful again by the time she got out, completely clean.

Who knew water pressure could hurt so much.

I kind of already knew she hated to be restrained or told what to do, but she despises strict commands. The doctor told her to stretch out, but she said her…hurts, so she sits stiffly, unless she's curled up in my lap. She hasn't used the arm sling she was given for her left arm because she won't be able to use the arm. All she let me do that's out of the ordinary is wash her dishes for her after dinner.

The bathroom door opened to Cat in a familiar looking yellow shirt and shorts, towel in her hands along with two plastic bags.

She can't wait to get rid of those bulky bandages, but right now she knows she has no choice.

"Morning Cat." I smiled at her. She immediately turned around and her face lit up.

"Robbie! Hi! Thanks for letting me use your shower." She said, padding over to me gingerly. She said it takes her a moment to get used to walking again. Her legs are understandably sore.

"Of course Cat. Did it go well?" I ask, as Cat gets close enough for me to touch. I gently put my hand on her right arm, just as she asked me to last night. She liked me holding her and gently rubbing her arm last night.

"Uh huh…" She replied, crawling onto my bed and lying on my pillow. I jokingly collapse on the pillow next to her, but too hard, causing her to wince.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Cat. Wasn't thinking at all." I say quickly, sitting up.

"It's ok. Didn't mean it." She smiled at me.

"How was the shower?"

"It's very nice. Thank you for showing me the settings. You have a nice shower."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, anything to make you feel better."

"Thank you."

"No prob girl. Your face looks better today." I smile at her.

It's true, the swelling is basically gone, and the bruising isn't quite so gruesome.

"I still look ugly."

"Hey." I frown, causing her to look guilty. "Close your eyes."

She did as requested and I softly kissed her bruised cheek. Not as nice as a normal kiss, but lord knows she needs all the love I can give her without worrying her.

"I don't kiss ugly girls. You look fine sunshine." I whispered.

She opened her eyes and moved to crawl into my lap again. "You're too nice Robbie."

"Hey, you need all the positive reinforcement you can get right now, so get used to it." I smiled. She simply hugged me.

We stayed like that for a minute. Until I saw the clock.

"It seems later than 9. It feels more like 11."

"Eh." Cat shrugged, still hugging me. "More time for us."

"Us?" I asked.

"Yes us. You and me. Cat and Robbie. Silly goose." Cat smiled happily.

"I'll take it." I joked.

Cat quickly reached up, grabbed my head and kissed my forehead quickly before relapsing into a hug.

"I owe you now more than ever Robbie."

"What? No you don't." I told her, trying to control my thoughts after her kiss.

"But I've yanked you around so much, and here we are, me hugging you."

"Cat, what happened in the past is over and done with ok? I wouldn't change anything because we're here, in decent health and happy."

_Well. I could have said that differently. _

"But…Alex and Colton and Michael, and I've hurt you too. I…I want to fix you."

"Fix me? I'm not broken." I replied.

"Robbie, you are kind of. You used to tell me stuff without hesitation and be 100 percent honest unless it was going to be a surprise. Now…you smokescreen everything and don't talk to anyone about what you think. And I'm the cause of that. It's ok to be in pain…I just want you to be able to be happy."

"Aww. Thanks Cat."

"Will you let me fix you?"

Her eyes are about as big as dinner plates.

"Sure."

"Awesome. Now do you want an omelet?" She asked with a smile.

"Cat, I'm not going to let you make me an omelet. You need to rest." I say sternly, looking at her.

"But Robbie, I want to make you an omelet."

"Rest."

"No. Omelet."

"You refuse to listen don't you?"

"Yep. Omelet."

She's giving me her demanding stare.

"Cat."

"Omelet."

Now she looks on the verge of tears.

"Why do you want to cook me breakfast?" I asked.

"Because you like it and I can cook it."

"But your arms are sliced up."

"You know what?" She said angrily, getting to her feet. "You aren't going to stop me. Just because I'm a bit banged up doesn't mean I can't do stuff."

Talk about déjà vu.

"Fine. Go make omelets."

"And toast?" She asked, running from the room.

"And toast." I chanted back.

_Hey, what's up?-Jade._

"Nothing. Chilling with Cat at my place." I reply.

Wait…I haven't cleaned up and I feel like I've already done a day's work talking to Cat. Weird.

_WHAT? That's where she is?-Jade_

She sounds mad. Weird.

"Yeah. Is there a problem?"

The smell of bacon is starting to permeate the air.

Funny how she didn't mention that. Excuse me while I roll my eyes.

…

Why hasn't Jade replied?

Oh well.

I speed thru my shower, making a mental note to ask Cat to move her towel next time. No big deal, just a small request.

_Why hasn't Jade replied?_

I had barely pulled my shirt on and started downstairs when suddenly she was in front of me.

Then she randomly shoved me. Hard.

"What the hell are you thinking?" She shrieked.

"What? Jade? You ok?"

"How dare you take advantage of her! She's been violated and now you bring her here?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, starting to stand, but Jade shoved me back down.

"Shut up!"

I shook my head and then Jade suddenly lurched onto the bed.

Then Cat dove into my lap, arms out to protect me.

"Stop…please stop. Just please stop. He didn't do anything." She sobbed.

_What the hell is going on?_

"Why did you let him bring you here? I told you that you should stay somewhere safe!" Jade asked Cat, voice calmer.

"I want to be here! Why are you so mad?"

"I'm worried sick about you!"

"But I'm fine! I'm with Robbie! I'm safe!" Cat replied.

Jade seems to be better now. I think the stress got to her and she snapped at me.

"But you didn't tell me you were here! I was going to see you when I texted Robbie!"

"You didn't say you were coming here? Cat!" I said, exasperated. I specifically told her to tell everyone that she was staying with me.

"I'm sorry! Why are you so mad?" She cried, curling close to me.

"I'm not sweetheart, I just don't want everyone to worry."

"Do you not want me here?" Cat asked Jade.

Oh god.

I think I'll be packing her up in about 5 minutes.

Jade started to speak, but then she saw Cat's tears.

"C'mere…" She told Cat, and the two of them retreated out of the room.

I sat there for a minute or two, then started messing with stuff just to give me something to do. I had folded my bed by the time they came back in.

"Robbie, C'mere." Jade asked, as Cat came back in, tear streaks on her face.

I walked out, and she followed.

"What is going on?" I demanded the second she shut the door.

"She didn't say she agreed to stay here with you."

What…

"I thought you knew otherwise I never would have packed her up!"

"I know that. I'm sorry for flipping out on you. I…she's got me worried."

"It's cool. But she asked if she could stay for a bit and I thought she had consulted it with you."

"She didn't but that's ok. She begged me to let her stay here."

I ran my hands thru my hair. "I'm happy to have her if she can stay here."

"She's here dude. Just promise me something?"

"Sure."

"It sounds selfish, but you think you got her?" She asked me.

"What do you mean?"

"I…I think I know how to get with Beck."

Oh really now.

"Of course I can handle Cat. Now where is this new revelation coming from?"

"I…stayed with him the last couple of nights."

"Stayed huh?" I inquire.

"Stayed, not slept with. But I think…I think he likes me."

Excuse me while I go throw a party. It's go time.

"No way." I faked surprise.

She went on for like five minutes, about how they were making dinner, and he hugged her from behind and kissed her hair and watched a movie together and it was magical.

_Damn good job Beck._

"So, anyway I'm sorry I snapped. I'll let you guys have breakfast." She finished, hugging me softly.

"Ok, you can stay if you'd like." I offered.

"Nah, Beck wants to eat with me." She burst into a girlish smile and giggle.

That's going to take some getting used to.

"Ok girl, keep it PG 13 please." I quipped.

"You do the same lover boy." She kissed my cheek, and sauntered right out the door.

Cat jumped when I opened the door again.

"Can I stay?"

Her face screamed desperation.

"You're staying."

She tackled me into a hug and sobbed all the way down the stairs, where we picked up breakfast preparations.

The rest of the day was honestly, kind of boring. Cat went to her checkup for her concussion, and I waited at my parents after dropping her off. I just helped dad with the patio he said he'd build.

Yeah, "build."

Love my parents. They're so human.

Cat texted my around 6 saying she was symptom free and needed her ride back. From there we ordered in Chinese and watched bad TV.

I thought she was thru for the night after we had bade each other goodnight, and I was about to hit the light, when she came padding in.

"Can I sleep with you? I don't want another nightmare." She asked, eyes wide.

"Sure, nightmare?" I asked.

"Yeah, what do you expect? They got me again." She sighed, coming in for a hug.

The second I hit the light and lied down she curled herself to me and passed out. After a minute or two it was clear she was sleeping soundly due to her deep breaths on my chest.

I hope I helped. I think I did.

Funny thing is, I just was Robbie. Nothing special.

Maybe that's the secret.


	16. Revert

There are no words for how much I missed this. Her. This close to me.

She's currently dozing next to me, arms unbandaged for the first night. She was crying when she drove back yesterday, desperate to clean off the ugly dead skin.

3 pumice stones and two bubble baths later she was happily curled up to me, watching a movie. Then she fell asleep and we did what we've done for the last week. Her curled up to me, a smile on her face.

She's been very hugful, if that's a word, not that I mind. Tori and Andre were over a few days ago and were surprised at how happy Cat is.

I'm just grateful she's smiling. She went through every girl's worst nightmare and has the audacity to be staying with another guy literally 10 days later.

And here I am, running my hand up and down the side of her stomach wishing I could stop time.

I'm not going to pull any punches and admit to the fact I think I like her again. I'm pretty sure since I was jealous of Alex.

I was going to start making a subtle move the night they met.

Cat quickly shifted closer to me and I swear she purred.

Then she started massaging my lower back.

_She's awake._

_Let's see how long she'll let me go before she calls me out._

I kept running my hands up and down the side of her stomach, and she continued to purr and massage my back.

And on.

And on.

_Geez! We're like 5 minutes in since she started!_

I wonder why she hasn't said anything.

"Hmm…"

And why is she purring?

"You awake sunshine?" I ask, mouth tasting like morning breath.

"Yes. But you already knew that." She smiled, looking up at me but still working my back.

"Darn, I'm busted." I rolled my eyes, and Cat laid her head in my chest.

"You're soft."

"Thanks." I smiled.

"Why are you rubbing my side?"

"Uhh…" I sputter.

"Tell me. I won't tell anyone." She whispered into my ear, adding a giggle onto it.

"I…it's bad."

"So? It's not like the world's gonna know."

"I missed having you so close to me." I admit, looking away.

She smiled and moved my hand to the small of her back.

"I missed this too…"

"Why'd you move my hand?"

"I want to be closer to you." She replied, pressing her stomach to me and looking up at me.

"Now I feel like I'm invading your personal space."

"I say this is more like it." She countered, scooting up on my chest.

"Cat…?"

She simply laid her head on my shoulder and purred.

"What am I going to do with you?" I jokingly asked.

"Love me, feed me, never leave me."

_Is that a joke?_

"I think I can handle that." I smiled, and she simply hugged me.

"No nightmares. Thank you."

"I didn't really do anything." I say sheepishly.

"Yeah you did. Whenever I'm with you I relax more, and when I relax I don't have nightmares. So you stop nightmares."

"Well…thanks I guess."

She then gave me another hug then swung her feet off my bed and marched downstairs.

I just laid there, trying to escape Cat's scent and join her downstairs, but there might as well been chains. I simply couldn't get up.

Then after 15 or so minutes she marched back in.

"Get up."

"I'm getting up." I reply.

"No you're not, your lounging."

"Am not." I reply defensively, right before a throw pillow hit me in the face.

"OW! Cat!"

"Get up."

"Why?"

"Breakfast is ready. Now get up or I'm eating yours first."

"But Cat—"

Again, another throw pillow whacked me in the face.

"OW!"

She didn't reply, just smirked and started back downstairs. I hopped up and met her just as she reached the bottom.

"AAH! Put me down!" She yelped as I scooped her into my arms.

I started spinning her around.

"Robbie!"

"What?"

"I'm dizzy!" She laughed. I put her down, only for her to take one step and stumble into my body, head-butting my stomach.

"Ugh."

"I'm sorry, but I warned you."

"You did. Now what are we having? Better be good since you dragged me out of bed." I smirked, causing her to whack my arm.

"I was lazy and just made omelets. If you want toast and stuff let me know."

"You call omelets lazy?" I ask, incredulous.

That's a lot of cutting of ingredients. Seems like a once a week thing.

"Not long to cook, plus I cut the ingredients at the start of the week."

"You did?"

"Yep. I cut way too much so I could throw this together quickly." She smiled, grabbing a glass and opening the fridge.

"You're a genius. And a awesome cook." I smiled at her.

It didn't take long for us to inhale (almost literally) the omelets and for her to shower. We said we'd discuss our plans once we were clean.

"Robbie?" Cat yelled up the stairs the second I had cut off the water to my shower.

"Yeah?"

Hope everything is alright.

"Can you wait up there for a bit?"

"Sure, why?"

"Nothing…can I call you when I'm done?"

"Sure I…guess."

_What could she be doing? And possibly more importantly, why?_

I meandered for like 5 minutes, making my bad and eventually relapsing into my 'Fiddle with everything' mode.

_What on earth is this ab—_

"Robbie! You can come down now!"

I dropped what I was doing, fiddling with my sheets and calmly raced down stairs, trying to prevent myself from riding the railing down like I have been recently.

Cat was not immediately in sight, but a wrapped box, complete with bow and two envelopes was sitting on the island next to the staircase.

"Cat?" I called out. If she's planning on doing something wit this, she probably wants to be here.

"Right here." She said softly, sneaking up on me from behind. I jumped and saw she had a cupcake in her hand, candle already lit.

She placed it on the island.

"Make a wish."

I closed my eyes and blew it out, followed by her clapping happily.

"What'd you wish for?" She asked, pulling the candle out of the cupcake and offering it to me.

"It's not gonna come true if I say it aloud." I pouted, taking the cupcake and biting into it.

Red Velvet.

_Why am I not surprised?_

"Delicious." I smiled, as she gave me a slightly hurt look as she threw the candle away.

"Thanks."

"When'd you make it?"

"Yesterday when you were running errands."

"Sneaky are we?" I teased her.

"Happy birthday." She replied, looking hopeful and extending her arms.

I put my cupcake down and grabbed her around the waist and spun her around.

"Hehehehehe!"

"Thanks Cat."

"No problem, you know what time it is?" She bounced up and down.

"No."

"BIRTHDAY PRESENT TIME!"

Her expression on her face is begging for me to laugh, but I hold it in.

"Cool, who's?"

It's the return of the 'Really Robbie?' face.

"Oh. Mine. My bad." I said in a monotone, provoking her into a well deserved push towards my present.

I grabbed the present and gently removed the bow.

And…

It's a new pearHome.

"Do you like it?" She immediately piped up, hair in her mouth.

"Yeah, how'd you know I needed one?"

"When I stopped by a while back I didn't see your old one and remembered this when I was shopping for you."

"I have to hand it to you, this is a homerun."

"That's basketball right?" She asked quickly.

I laughed, "No, baseball sunshine. A homerun is baseball."

"Oh. Phoo." She sighed, looking sad.

"What's in the envelopes?" I asked. Cat immediately snatched one up.

"Why don't you find out?"

Anticipation over taking me, I rip it open much rougher than the pearHome.

"Cat…no way. This must have cost a fortune." I immediately say. This is too much.

"So?" She asked testily.

She got me two tickets to the hottest musical festival in California, "Best of LA."

These tickets were impossible to come by. Even with a friend at Ticket Artisan I couldn't get one. They sold out in 2 minutes. And she somehow has procured two out of thin freaking air.

"Cat…seriously, how'd you get them?"

"I know one of the performers and he was happy to hook me up."

"I should've known. Why two?"

"I mentioned that it was a birthday present, and he threw in the extra, wanting me to go."

"Well, you're coming for sure. Like it or not." I smiled, pulling her in for a hug.

She seems to be radiating with happiness.

"And the last one…" I say, grabbing it and opening it.

Well…it's another ticket. But it's customized. I don't exactly know what—

One Private concert for Robbie Shapiro. Redeemable at any time.

Performer: Cat Valentine.

_She's an angel._

She wants to give me a private concert.

"Cat…this is…"

She looked eagerly at me.

"You're the best." I sputtered out.

"It's my favorite personally." She smiled shyly.

"It's at the top of my list." I smiled back, pulling her in for a hug.

"Sorry I couldn't give this to you on your birthday."

"It's fine Cat. Sorry I gave the other gift away. I shouldn't have done that."

"I understand. I don't like it, but you were angry and I wasn't there when I should have been. But we're here now and I'm going to do my best." She said, eyes suddenly sparkling.

I pulled her into my arms and we just stood there for a moment, simply enjoying each other.

"Thanks again."

"No problem." She squeaked out.

"So where do you want to go?" I asked, giving her one last squeeze before reluctantly letting her go.

"There's a street fair a few miles away. Can we do that?" She asked.

"Sounds awesome. Let's take the scion, it needs some miles." I turned for the basket I have the keys in.

"Ok, can I drive it? I've never drove it before."

_Why? It's just a car._

I don't think it really matters.

"Sure. Here, catch." I said tossing her the keys and grabbing my jacket.

She obviously picked a hot spot, we had to park 4 blocks away and within two it was almost solid people.

"Good choice." I smiled at her.

But my smile fell instantaneously.

_She cannot be serious._

Cigarette in hand, lighter in the other.

I immediately want to chuck them. The only positive is that with Alex out of the picture and Jade not present I can start to break her out of it _my way._

I started by looking everywhere but at her.

"Ooh look! Magician!"

Nope.

She yanked on my sleeve, smoke drifting into my face.

"Robbie! Look!"

I looked in the direction I assumed the magician to be, but I got a faceful of smoke and couldn't hold my irritation in.

"Cat, can you put that out?" I snapped.

Her jaw quickly fell open and she went pale.

"I…sorry." She said, sputtering. "Wasn't thinking."

"Yep."

"You mad at me?" She sounded scared.

"I just wish you wouldn't do that."

She didn't push it, and quickly stomped it out and threw the remnants away. The smell remained, but I tried to think thru it.

The next minute or two was filled of awkward silence, then me picking her up some cotton candy, and suddenly she was back, kind of.

But it was short lived. And it totally wasn't her fault.

_Wait…_

"Is that…" Cat said, just as I realized it WAS them and covered her mouth, as if us saying their names would end in them suddenly seeing us.

"Yeah, get down!" I hiss, and we both pretend to occupy ourselves at a dart game.

"What are they doing together?" Cat asked me, sounding unsure.

I know why. The streaks in her hair gave her away. We both saw her at the same time.

"We both know they like each other, so_—_"

"He likes her?" She said, entirely too loudly.

_Damn it. _

Good going.

"Yeah, didn't you know?" I shrugged, hoping she would tone it down. We're not on a date, but they clearly are. Their hands were entwined, and she had a bounce in her step unlike anything I've seen in awhile.

"No! Otherwise I would have done something or asked you!" Cat whacked my arm, causing the booth monitor to glance at us.

I grabbed her hand and steered her away from the creepy dude.

"Stay down, let's keep a eye on them." I whispered.

"No! That's spying." She stopped in her tracks.

"What? They have done it to us? It's comeuppance!" I said, extending my arms and almost whacking a kid in the face.

"Sorry." I apologized.

Cat was biting her lip. "Fine. For 5 minutes only."

The verdict is in quite early. This is more than a friendly thing. His hands are too low for friends, but too high for a girlfriend.

I think we bumped into them while they're figuring things out.

"Time's up." Cat yanked me back to the car.

"But—"

"No. I'm hungry."

"Already?"

"It's 6 Robbie! Look, the sun's going down!"

One glance at the horizon confirmed her statement.

"Fine. Where do you want to go?"

"Chuy's and a movie."

That actually sounds good.

"What movie?" I asked. I read the Hunger Games trilogy and want to see the first one in theatres, but haven't had time.

"Hunger Games."

HELL YEAH!

"Awesome! I want to see it too!" I smile.

"Team Peeta."

What? No…Gale.

"No. Gale got robbed. Have you read everything?" I asked her, hopping in the car.

"Duh. And he killed Prim! Peeta just loved her and suffered for her! That's all!" Cat retorted, sarcasm lacing the last part.

We feverishly debated Peeta v. Gale for a solid 30 minutes, taking up the whole drive, plus the time after we ordered to when David popped up, carrying in our nachos with a HUGE smile.

"Hey Robbie, Cat. How you kids doing today?"

"Good." Cat smiled, hugging his shoulder.

"Awesome." I replyed.

"looks great, thank you." Cat smiled again, as I hugged him.

"Thank you sweetheart." He replied. "It's on the house ok? Enjoy."

"David, I can take this." I say, hoping he'll listen.

"Nope, it's my birthday present to you." He ruffled my hair. "Plus you guys came back together finally. You've been alone for a while now. Glad to see you both back." He smiled, then turning back to the room.

One of the most painful parts of the break up was telling David. He loved seeing us, and hetook it ok, but clearly was rattled.

Now he seems to be bouncing like Cat.

Per usual, it was delicious. And I still tipped handsomely, knowing in the back of my mind it'll just end up back at my parents in a envelope with my name on it. But I still want to try. Can't count on it forever right?

Luckily, the 9:30 showing was still for sale as we got there, and took our seats.

Then it hit me.

Déjà vu all over again.

Carnival, Chuy's, now a movie.

And you know what's next. Cat sleeps in my bed.

With me.

I…

I think we've relapsed without even knowing it.

It honestly has been effortless. Just hanging out, having a good time and enjoying each others company.

_Can it really be this simple?_

The last year and a half, disappears in a single night? All the obstacles? The tears?

I cannot hold it back. Cat's playing with her phone. Some unknown app.

I grab her shoulders and kiss her softly. I can't take it.

She froze for just a moment, but then turns to me and has her hand deep in my hair.

Then it's over. Our faces inches apart, our breathes colliding.

I remember something she said last time.

"_Each step we take is like a tiny elephant. Big in it's own right, but in the grand plan a footnote."_

Tiny elephants or not, I know what I just felt, and I think she felt it too.

The spark flickered again. The heat, the…natural reaction.

I think I've got a shot.


	17. Turntables

Cat let out a discrete yawn behind her hand, passing it off as scratching her nose.

"That's five." I quipped, prompting her to whack my arm.

"Why are you counting?" She asked, sounding affronted.

"Just cause."

I barely saw her roll her eyes as I passed another SUV. These people shouldn't be in the passing lane. I'm not even going 75.

"We need to go to bed earlier."

"Are you saying you don't want to go have dinner and a movie?" I jokingly asked, sounding disappointed.

"No! I do, I'm just tired." She said, punctuating it with another yawn.

"Everyone else is gonna think you were up till like 4 AM."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm so happy to see everyone."

"They've been worried about you, you know that."

"I know, being all the way in Seattle must have driven them nuts." She commented.

"They know what going on for the most part."

"How far back?"

"To last June."

Next thing I know she was pounding my arm, apparently trying to destroy it.

"Why? Why on EARTH would you tell them that? I'm not proud of that and neither are you and you know it! She yelled, continuing to hammer away at my arm.

"Ow! Cat! I know ok? But Freddie asked how we were. What was I supposed to do, lie?"

"Try saying we're fine thank you and leave it at that?" She suggested, moving down to hit my ribs.

"Cat! Stop hitting me or I'm gonna hit someone. Remember, this is your SUV!" I yelled, dodging someone who cut me off.

Finally she stopped.

"Thank you. And basically you're saying lie." I retort.

"But it's humiliating! How am I gonna look him in the face and say I'm fine?"

"Maybe you are fine. You seemed fine 5 minutes ago." I say simply.

"But—"

"And this morning." I jump in.

"But—"

"And at the movies."

"Fine! I'm better! I just don't like telling everyone ok?"

"I understand. Just know where I'm coming from." I asked of her.

"Ok. Sorry I raised my voice." She said, as I pulled into a deserted part of the airport parking lots as previously arranged.

"You sure you don't wanna change your mind?" I asked, as she climbed into my lap.

Again, this was all discussed beforehand.

"Yeah, I don't want to jump the gun and mess whatever this is up."

"You sound like me last time." I reclined my chair.

"Shut up." She said, pulling me into a kiss.

So let me explain. We've been kind of couple-y the last few days, the closeness, the touching, and yes, the occasional kiss. She has assumed my role of 'I don't want to mess it up' so we're not telling ANYONE. Not Tori, not Beck, Jade or Andre. No one knows and that is how it will stay for now.

And for now I'm drinking her in again, hands wrapped around her hips.

At last, we separated but she didn't move away, instead laying her head on my collarbone.

"I don't like lying to them." She pouted.

"But…" I know what's coming.

Then she meandered into the normal spiel until I kissed her again and cut her off.

When we separated she wasted no time in showing her appreciation my purring into my ear.

"I missed that I hope you know." I whispered, gently scratching her stomach over her shirt.

"Me too." She said, grabbing my hand and placing it under her shirt at the same spot.

_Whoa._

"I love you. So much." I told her.

"Me too." She sounded close to tears.

"Hey, look at me." I asked, and she did as asked.

"I'm not going anywhere. I couldn't if I wanted to. You're got me under your little spell. I'm fine until you decide to take of the chains and let us start again. Ok?" I reassured her, as she started to cry on my shoulder.

"I feel so bad. I…I could have been doing this for a year. Instead, I…I don't know what happened."

"It doesn't matter. Now, one for the road?" I asked.

And she sure as hell gave me one for the road. The longest we've gone without kissing since the movie is sleeping 8 hours or so. When awake, 4. Now Cat and I will have to double that just to make it thru safely.

I suspect she'll crack at some point and pull me aside. I really don't care. As long as the end result ends in Cat and I back together, I don't care how it happens.

"Your hands are so nice." She giggled. I meandered a bit away from her ribs.

I felt myself start to go red and start pushing up the seat.

"Aww." She pouted.

"We gotta meet the others. I look ok?" I asked.

"Delectable. Me?"

I told the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

"Beautiful."

"Thanks…" She blushed as I proceeded to join humanity and parked next to cars.

She held my hand all the way. The plan is for her to tell the others, if they ask that 'All the people scare me, and if I hold his hand, I know I'm safe.'

Which is partly true. The only effect I can still notice is she hates lingering in one place with Hispanics. It sounds bad, but she's scared to death. The waiting room when she was waiting for her bandages to get taken off was apparently torture for her.

"Hey there." Tori smiled at me, as Cat and I emerged from security.

"Hi." Cat came and hugged her. I waved hello to Jade and Beck, who were in the midst of a discussion and didn't reply.

"Hey Cat. Why you guys holding hands?" Andre asked, hugging her.

Cat effortlessly supplied the reason, with Jade and Beck listening in about halfway thru.

"Well, you're safe now." Beck smiled, and she hugged him tightly.

"So what have you two been up to? You've been off the grid for a while." I asked Andre and Tori.

"Basically the studio." Tori said, and Andre nodded.

"Mix tape is next week." Andre smiled.

"No way! Congrats man!" I said, hugging him. "No wonder you disappeared!"

"Thanks."

"Now what's your excuse?" I smiled at Tori.

"Well, it takes a year or two to get the whole music thing off the ground, and we're about 9 months in. That good enough for ya?" She said in a New England accent.

"For now, yes. Can you try to hang around more?" Cat asked, sounding hopeful.

"Sure."

No need to ask Beck and Jade, and we couldn't if we wanted to. They're back into their conversation.

Luckily for them, Carly, Sam and Freddie's plane arrived at the gate.

"Think they'll be prepped for this weather?" Jade asked sarcastically.

I suspect Carly is, and I basically know Freddie will be. Now Sam…

She might have to go shopping.

"Probably not, but this isn't normal summer weather." Tori surmised.

"It's like winter again." Cat pouted. I discreetly started scratching her back.

"It's so depressing." I sigh.

"I agree, the sun is like a friend I haven't seen in a while." Andre frowned.

"I didn't sign up to go to San Francisco." Beck said, causing everyone to laugh. We went on a trip to San Francisco and it was the worst vacation ever. Beat even Yerba. It's like the Juarez of California. Complete joke to everyone outside there, but in San Fran, they think they're sooo cool!

"Cat, you aren't bouncing yet." Tori prodded, earning a reproachful look from Cat.

Looks like she's still nervous.

Freddie gave me the heads up that they will be close to first off, Carly splurged on first class tickets, mainly to avoid Sam's nagging.

Sure enough, within 5 people Carly, Sam and Freddie emerged. And they all descended on Cat like white on rice.

Freddie first, hugging her tightly then KISSING her, then Carly and Sam hugging her.

"Hey Robbie, what's up?" Freddie asked, snapping me out of my thoughts about yelling at him.

"Not much, how are you man?"

"I'm good. Tori." He smiled, and he soon was smiling and Sam had introduced herself to me again.

"Nice to see ya again kid." She smiled at me, ruffling my hair.

I barely saw Cat sidle next to me before Carly had me in a choke hold of a hug.

"Carly…Carly? Limited air supply." I breathed out, but she didn't hear me.

Then Cat literally rose to the occasion, getting on her tiptoes. "Carly. Ease up, he can't breathe."

"Oh sorry." She said, letting go of me and allowing me to gasp for oxygen.

The next few moments the others reacquainted themselves while Cat procured a water bottle from nowhere and gave it to me. Which actually made breathing a bit easier.

"Everyone ok over here?" Jade asked, looking at Cat and I. She came at a bad time because she was rubbing my back.

"Yeah, Carly gave him too tight a hug and I gave him the water to open his throat back up." Cat piped up.

"Where'd you learn that?" Tori asked, as the others glanced over.

"Methodist." Cat mumbled, looking shy.

"Ok…so baggage?" Sam asked.

"I vote we do what we do last time." Carly said.

"No! We've already been over this. Sam forced us into that and it wouldn't be fair to—"

"Sounds good to me." Cat smiled, effectively silencing him.

"Ok, see you back at Robbie's!" Sam said, dashing off with the others in tow.

"Well, I guess that leaves us." I said, voice raspy. Cat shoved the water bottle back into my hand, causing Freddie to smirk.

"Yep. Shall we?" he offered his arm to Cat.

"Let's." She smiled, and the two of them skipped off to baggage claim. It seems like the script is the same as last time, down to me grabbing all the bags and Cat warning me about my back on our way to the car.

"You want up front Cat?" Freddie asked.

"No, you can have it." She smiled at him.

We all piled in and I pulled into the line to pay for parking.

"So what now?" Freddie asked.

"Well…we know of a Mexican cantina type place that I think you would like. If you want Mexican food." Cat said tentatively.

"Sounds good, what's the name?"

I could feel Cat's smirk come on, and one glance in the mirror confirmed it.

"Chuy's. Robbie's known the owner since he was born basically."

"Really now? Does that mean we'll get a discount?" He joked.

"Actually, probably yeah." I said, awkward about the whole thing. Let's just say I got my money back yesterday and leave it at that.

"Ok then. To Chuy's." He smiled.

"TO CHUY"S!" Cat yelled as I pulled onto the highway.

"So, how's the music coming Cat?"

I briefly saw a vindictive look in the mirror before she placidly replied.

"It's ok. Just basics right now. What about Carly?"

"She's ok. Thinking about releasing another single."

Cat quickly went pale.

"But it's not close to being ready." Freddie rushed, seeing her face. "Sorry about IMG."

"It's ok. They're stupid."

Talk about a conversation killer. Silence for about 3 solid minutes, and in that time Cat slammed her knee into my back, causing me to bite down a swear word.

"So before we walk in, what would you advise me to order?" Freddie asked.

"We always get the nachos, but you can get anything, it's all good." Cat smiled.

"Then I assume you're getting the nachos." He smiled.

"Yep."

"Just in time, we're here." I smiled, killing the ignition. To absolutely no surprise at all David was lingering near the hostess table.

"Ah! So you brought a friend!" He jumped up upon seeing Cat and I. "David, nice to meet you."

Freddie shook his hand. "Freddie, thank you."

"So three?" He jokingly asked.

"Yep." Cat smiled, and he quickly guided us to a table.

"So let me guess, two nachos with lemonade for you two." He smiled at Cat and I, who were sitting on the same side of the booth. "What for you sir?"

"Same." Freddie smiled.

"That sure makes life simpler for all of us won't it?" He smiled, taking our menus.

We barely had time to think before Cat's ringtone blasted out, sounding like a jail alarm. Freddie and I jumped and Cat scrambled for it, mouthing "It's Methodist." To me.

"Damn. It's Methodist." I muttered while standing for Cat to escape.

Freddie's eyebrows were creased as Cat walked away.

"That the hospital?"

"Mental Hospital." I replied.

"I guess she hated it, judging by the alarm." He joked.

"I've never seen her hate a place more." I said candidly.

"You didn't mention you guys were back together." He smirked taking his lemonade from David, who looked thoroughly surprised.

"We're not." I jump.

"Doesn't look like it."

"She badgered you on your back, stood as close to you as last time, jumped back to you, played nurse when Carly tackled you, it sure seems like you guys are back together."

"We're still figuring it out." I admit.

"Makes sense, you were mad at her last time." He shrugged.

"Well, the game has changed a bit."

"That it has. For someone who went to a mental hospital she sure seems to have recovered nicely from her stint there plus this most recent disaster."

"She's the most resilient girl I know."

"So do you love her?"

…

"Hell yeah I do. She's the one holding back this time."

"Doesn't seem like it."

"It leaks out into her behavior." I admit.

"When do you think you'll have it figured it out?"

"No idea, I suspect soon though."

"It's nice seeing you so happy. When you were in Seattle it was unnerving to see you so frustrated."

"Was it really that bad?" I ask.

"Not bad, just scary. You were gonna get married, then you leave town to get away from her. That's a long way down."

"Ok, looks like I beat her back." David smiled. "Here you guys go, enjoy."

"Thanks David." I smiled.

"Of course. Anytime."

"Does he usually pile it on like this?" Freddie asked.

"No, but I'm not surprised, you are visiting and he wants a good review." I joked. It's David being a good guy and that's final.

"Usually they cheat you on something. Now I have too much." He shook his head.

"Sorry…they wanted to try to convince me to come back there for my mental health." Cat grumbled, climbing over me and causing Freddie to smirk.

Damn his intuition.

"Sounds unnecessary." Freddie said.

"It is."

"No way in hell I'm going." Cat spouted off, causing Freddie to look surprised. Yeah, it takes some getting used to.

As always, the nachos were amazing.

Then David came by for the ticket.

"Looks like you kids enjoyed it."

"Yes, delicioso." Freddie smiled.

"What do I owe you?" I asked.

"What do you think?" He smirked.

"Dude." I snapped. I don't want him to cover me like this again. I can pay and happily will. All this has to be cutting into his bottom line.

"What?"

"C'mere…" I stood and started outside.

"David seriously man. I can handle this." I said the moment the door shut.

"But I want to handle this. Look at your receipt." He told me.

$12.50 for each nacho. Not bad.

"So?"

He pointed to his menu above the hostess station.

$15.50.

Son of a bitch.

"So you're giving me a discount before I even pay? Why?"

"Simple. I love both you and Cat. I specifically markup stuff extra so I can make my money."

"Like?"

"Margaritas. They're cheap and easy to bilk people on."

"Good point. But seriously, I can pay." I snap.

"But I'm going to. I always handle your ticket personally. This isn't cutting into my bottom line. I could let you guys kick it on the patio with a margarita each and not hurt myself. Don't worry and let me handle it."

"You would card us." I say.

"Card what? They invented taxis for a reason. Plus it might get the slap status changed."

God, what a manipulator. I love him, but man…

"That's coming." I say defensively.

"Good. We good?" He asked.

"Fine." I admit defeat.

"Great, mind if I finally come to your new place and try out a new recipe? My treat."

"You haven't seen my place?" I yelp. I swear I've invited him over.

"Nope."

"What's the recipe?"

"A twist on soft tacos and chicken enchiladas. I'll even let you buy the ingredients to make you feel better." He ribbed me.

"Sounds good."

"I'll call and we'll set something up ok?"

"Ok David." I hugged him.

"Finally, you listen." He smirked.

I walk back inside, wondering to myself how he beat me so handily.

"So?" Freddie asked.

"He won. And told me next time to have a margarita to chill out."

"He didn't." Cat snapped.

"He did, and offered to give you one too."

"Not if your parents eat with us." She immediately replied.

"Don't put it past him." I sighed.

Freddie simply laughed. "I like this guy."

He could see, but David burst into a smile when he said that.


	18. High Speed

(A/N: Hi everyone! Glad you guys like the story. Unfortunately I have some bad news to report. The updates are going to be a little slower in coming because some genius(me) spilled coke on his keyboard and now it's completely dead and I have to wait 2 weeks for a new one. Sorry for the delay, this one is completely my fault and I hope this isn't too bad a convenience. Back to the story!)

Cat POV

Muscle muscle muscle.

All for me.

Mine. ALL mine.

Over his shoulder I see the clock. 9:45. He told me he needs to be up by 10. Hopefully he keeps sleeping so I can wake him up.

I've never woken him up. I'm kind of excited and anxious at the same time.

But look at him. When'd he become so strong? So…muscular.

It's not noticeable, at least when he's wearing his normal clothes that make him look cute. But now, since I managed to get his shirt off him…

Mhmmm.

The only thing that is the same is his skin. So so soft and inviting. I want to kiss every inch, but I don't think that would be a good idea.

Yeah, jumping his bones isn't such a good idea.

Especially since we're supposed to meet Carly, Freddie and the others at a nice kind of restaurant at noon.

_OH MY GOD!_

How on earth did I get so lucky? Not just once, but twice! We're back together, but haven't said it, and I haven't mentioned holding back since Carly, Sam and Freddie came into town.

I…I can't hold back any longer. I just want to pin him against the wall.

_Yep, I'm horny._

It's amazing how we've picked up where we left off before…the fighting. Putting up a good public face, then mainly devouring each other here at home and relaxing.

I don't want school to start.

The reminders are everywhere. Old pictures of us, and a couple new ones. I can tell which is which by looking at Robbie. He looks older, more mature, more confident…

And of course, sexier.

The abs he was working on when we were a couple are complete now, biceps and triceps nice, but not giant by any stretch but still strong.

And those legs.

That was the first thing I noticed once I got so close to him. His legs are incredibly strong. He has a bunch of workout equipment in the basement and uses it when I'm not around I guess. I've never seen him work out.

Would I love to though. See him all worked up, muscles stretched to the max…

_CAT! Stop. Just…stop._

I'll have my chance. I just need to give it time. What I need to try and focus on is my music. I'm sooo close on getting 4 songs done. Unfortunately that's including Put your Hearts Up.

Robbie shocked me when I asked the other day what the timetable on that was. He said it was ready to launch when I wanted to launch it.

_WHAT!_

Talk about out of the blue. I only want to wait until Carly, Sam and Freddie leave town then launch it. I don't like launching something with her in town. Carly that is.

She may be a friend, but she is competition musically.

_9:59…_

And still fast asleep. Perfect.

I reach over and shut off the alarm clock.

_Here goes…_

"Robbie…Robbie…" I gently shake him.

"No…Supreme tastes terrible. Cotton candy is better." He mumbles.

_Hehe._

He's talking in his sleep.

About what though? I think pizza, but there's no such thing as Cotton Candy pizza.

If there was Robbie would have to handcuff me to a chair to prevent me from running to the restaurant.

"Robbie…time to wake up." I said softly.

"But I want Cat to wake me up. I love her."

_Aww!_

"It's me Robbie, it's Cat."

I shook him a little harder and his eyes jolted open.

"Cat?"

"Hehe." I couldn't hold in my laugh. "Hi."

"Morning sunshine."

His face is so adorable, he is _barely_ conscious, and is looking at me. Only me. He seems so happy to wake up and have the first thing he sees is me.

"You awake?" I asked, as his eyes started to flutter.

"I'm…I'm trying."

"Try harder." I giggled, poking his nose, causing him to grin.

"Someone's awake."

"Yep. I got to wake you up." I smiled.

He softly yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"You did very well." He smiled, wrapping his arms around me softly. I shifted and hugged him, head on his shoulder.

"What time is it again?" He mumbled, sounding like he was about to fall asleep again.

"10 AM."

"Ugggggh." He groaned.

"Don't want to get up?" I asked, and he nodded, putting his head on my collarbone.

"Why am I so tireddddd?" He mumbled.

"I don't know Robbie. I just don't know."

"Can I have orange juice?" he asked.

"Yeah." I smiled, swing my feet up, but suddenly falling back onto Robbie, who was holding onto my arm.

"Robbie? Why are you holding my arm?" I asked, almost giggling. He's being like a little kid, all clingy to me.

I like it.

"I want to give you something."

"Ok, what is it?" I asked, smiling.

Then he kissed me briefly, and let go.

"You woke me up nice. It's nice to see you so early in the morning." He sleepily said, putting his head back onto my shoulder.

_Awww! He's so cute! And he's all mine!_

I laughed and pecked his cheek. "Aww. Thanks Robbie. It's nice sleeping next to you too. Your soft."

"Thanks. I'm getting up now." He yawned.

He did exactly that, and all timed perfectly while I made our now normal breakfast of omelets, toast and orange juice.

I don't know why he loves my cooking so much. He seems to enjoy it more than anytime we go out to eat, and always thanks me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Which is more than enough payment for me. I just like to see him happy. And with me.

His reaction is muted now. The first few times I cooked breakfast he treated it like I was doing him a favor. But now that it's become apparent that we're together again, he doesn't say anything. Some people would worry about that, and I did for a couple of days, but I think he realizes I'm not trying to impress him, I'm just cooking breakfast.

He still hasn't learned about the dishes though. I don't mind cleaning up even though I cooked. I know he was raised on the philosophy of 'Chef cooks, the rest do the dishes' but I want to do it for now.

Now in the future…I might not be so generous. But for now I am.

We're all set for our excursion to the Cheesecake Warehouse.

Suddenly both Robbie and I's phone's buzzed.

He suddenly looked at me, jacket halfway on and keys in hand.

"Who would message us both at the same time?" he asked.

"I don't know. Either that or it's one heck of a coincidence." I replied.

_Cat and Robbie: Carly and Sam left me at the hotel, would you mind picking me up?-Freddie_

I heard Robbie mumble "That chick is such a gank to him…"

"Can we?' I asked, hoping beyond hope we can. I really like Freddie; I wish he lived here in LA!

"Of course, want to take your SUV?" He smiled at me.

"YAY!"

"I'll take that as a yes." He smirked, pulling on his jacket and grabbing my keys.

The whole way there I was rocking out to Adele and other top songs on the radio. I haven't done much singing the last few days and it was nice to give my vocal cords a workout. Every time a song ended Robbie said something like "Nice job sunshine." Or "Good high note."

Always complimentary.

Freddie popped out of the lobby of the hotel and scared Robbie to death, tapping on his window while Robbie was texting him that we were here. He jumped like 5 feet in the air.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He immediately apologized as he buckled in and Robbie made a U-Turn.

"It's ok, did Sam leave you?" I asked kindly, reaching for a hug.

"Nah, she pushed me out of the front seat and Carly accidentally drove off." He answered, hugging me back.

"How does that happen?" Robbie asked, already swamped in traffic.

"Just like us now. Sam told Carly I was in, and Carly didn't realize it until she was stuck in traffic and it was too late to turn around.

Robbie simply scowled. I know he doesn't like how Freddie gets treated by both girls.

"Oh. She should pay for you at the restaurant." I piped up.

"She didn't bring her wallet on this trip." He yawned.

"On the trip?" Robbie yelped.

"Yep."

"She's going to regret that one day."

"Yeah, and she doesn't even have an excuse since she runs a big construction business. She just doesn't care." Freddie rolled his eyes.

Suddenly I'm not liking Sam so much either.

"How are you Cat?" he asked.

"I'm ok."

"You guys officially together yet?" He asked, with a smirk.

_He—Wha—_

"What are you talking about?" I retort quietly.

"You guys are going out stealthily. Have you decided to come out with it?"

I look over to Robbie, who appears to be avoiding my gaze.

"I don't know what you're talking about Freddie." I say. Robbie slightly slunk down in his seat. "Robbie and I are good friends right now."

Robbie didn't look happy.

_But we went over this! He said to maintain that we are just friends and that nothing romantic is going to happen!_

Why is he upset.

"Really? It doesn't seem like it. You guys have been kind of closer than normal." Freddie maintained.

"No, the last time you saw us we were still a couple, which we aren't anymore." I told him.

"I can't tell a difference between then and now to be honest."

"Sorry to break you guys conversation up, but we're here." Robbie said in a clipped tone, unbuckling his seat belt.

Freddie led the way inside, and Robbie avoided all my attempts at eye contact.

I think I messed up.

"Hi, we're the other part of the Shay/Valentine reservation?" Freddie cheerfully asked. The hostess grabbed 3 menus and led us back to a room with the lights really low. I could barely make out Carly and Sam, talking to Beck, Tori, Jade and Andre.

They all laughed really hard the moment we started to sit down.

"Hey! You guys made it!" Carly smiled at Freddie.

"Yeah, we were starting to get a little worried." Jade said.

Suddenly Robbie, who had positioned himself across from me and next to Freddie cringed slightly and I felt a rush of air go by.

_I think Sam kicked him._

"Are the lights always this low?" Freddie asked quietly.

"Don't know, never been here before." Beck replied.

Suddenly the waiter was on us for drink and entrée orders. I'm glad I don't have to do this anymore. I kind of miss the camaraderie though…I wonder if Robbie would let me pay him back and let me work some?

_But he's acting so subdued._

I'm pretty sure I didn't say 'We aren't going out' quite right.

Quicker than I expected, our food was here, and I had to concentrate on the larger than expected salad I ordered, to the questioning of the others. They said I could have anything, but I chose a salad. Which Tori and Sam said is the most depressing kind of food.

The conversation was as lively as ever, with the main topic being what we're going to do after this. It was a fierce debate between Roller coasters, voted for by Andre, Sam and Beck; Go Carts, Me, Carly and Tori; and Laser Tag, which took up Freddie, Robbie and Jade.

Why Robbie wants Laser tag is beyond me. He messed up his leg last time we went!

So we had to call Spencer because we were all in a deadlock and refusing to budge.

"Hi Spencer!" Carly chimed.

"Hey Carls! How's LA treating you guys?" He said.

"It's good Spence." Freddie smiled.

"Oh, you too Freddie? Who all is there?"

"Everyone." Robbie monotoned, causing everyone to laugh.

"Oh, that's cool. What's up?" Spencer asked.

"We can't decide on what to do once we get done eating!" I told him. I briefly saw Robbie's eyes flash to me.

"So I'm the tiebreaker?"

"Yep." Sam said.

"What are my choices?"

"Well, you've got Roller Coasters." Andre suggested.

Tori jumped in right after him. "And there's go carts Spencer."

"But we all know what the best choice is." Jade said haughtily. "Laser Tag."

"Are you guys reading off a script?" Spencer asked, causing us to laugh.

"No, why do you ask?" Carly asked.

"Well, my choices were one on top of another, like it was on cue."

"Decide!" Sam briskly said, causing several patrons to stare at her.

"Go Carts."

Carly, Tori and I all exchanged high fives. Robbie didn't look too upset thankfully.

"Ok, that settles that then." Freddie said in a even tone.

"Talk to you later Spencer!" Carly said.

"Ok! Be safe kidd_—_"

Suddenly the waitress was smirking at us. "So, Go Carts it is?"

"Yep." Freddie smiled at her.

She is pretty.

"Please sign here…" She extended the check, and Robbie snatched it up.

"Robbie!" Tori sighed.

"What? I got this."

The others grumbled. He always does this and says it's because he likes to pay.

Yeah, and I like buying…feminine products. You're voluntarily making your money go away.

He's such a liar.

But my liar.

Freddie joined us on the drive back to the Go Kart place, where we were faced with an interesting dilemma. At least for me.

I hate driving go karts. Riding is fun. But there isn't any protection if you hit anything, so I'm always scared.

So I want to be in a double.

With Robbie.

I feel bad for manipulating the poor guy at the desk into switching Robbie's kart after he asked for a single. But as one of those basketball announcer guys famously said:

"He won't be denied!"

Or she…That can work too.

I happily sat in the kart, waiting for Robbie, and he finally came out, looking confused but still sat in the driver's seat. At least we're not the only double. Carly and Andre got one.

"Hi." I said happily. I'm going to make him talk to me.

"Hey Cat." He replied, starting to pull out of the driveway thing.

"Robbie, can I be honest with you and not dance around it?"

His face quickly went pale. "Ok."

"Are you mad at me? I don't think I said the whole 'We're just friends' thing right." I squeaked.

_Please don't be mad…_

"Not mad…just worried sweetheart." He sighed, taking one hand off the wheel and running it thru his hair. I quickly stabilized the wheel with my left hand.

"Thanks." He smiled.

"Why are you worried?" I asked.

"This…it's happened so fast. Two and a half weeks ago you were in a hospital worrying you were pregnant. And now we're…."

"Together."

"Not officially." He said.

"Does it matter?" I asked, as the yellow light signaling we're about to start came on.

"It does only because you sounded like you didn't want to go out with me." He said, sounding annoyed.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

I think I found the problem.

"You sounded disgusted at the idea of us going out sunshine. I don't want to push you into doing anything, especially if it's about us."

"But I do want to go out with you! I want to make this work this time!"

"Please say that again." He started to smirk.

"You're such a goof." I rolled my eyes as the green light came on.

"That's not what you said." He smirked.

I reached up and pecked his cheek. "I do want to go out with you."

Then the sound of a engine came right beside us.

"Hah! I KNEW IT!"

Freddie.

He punched the air and looked thrilled.

"Congrats guys!" He smiled, and Robbie eased off the gas long enough to let him pass.

"Ok, that's the last person to pass us." Robbie decreed.

"Sounds like a plan."

We passed Freddie a moment or two later. Robbie's a amazing driver.

The look on Freddie's face after I stuck my tongue out at him was priceless. He couldn't stop looking happy.

Unfortunately, the whole 'Last person to pass us' thing didn't work. It almost did! But…Jade is really good too. And she beat us high side.

But I'm too tired to care. After lunch and Go Karts and dinner and bidding the iCarlies farewell I'm exhausted. But I need to find something first.

There are two bedside tables next to Robbie's bed, one on each side. I am going thru them to find something.

I need to start atoning for my past mistakes.

_Not in the one on my side. I doubt it'll be on his—_

OMG.

I'm wrong. It's the black box again.

Not the engagement one.

The promise one.

It was on his side.

Next to the engagement one.

_He slept next to it every night. Even when things were at its worst. Even when I was in Methodist…_

He still kept the most poignant memory within arm's length.

He's incredible. What did I do to deserve this boy who fell straight from heaven?

"Hey sunshine, you tired?" Robbie asked, right after I closed it back up, empty box next to the engagement ring inside the table on his side.

"Yep, hug?" I asked, and he crawled to me and engulfed me in a hug.

"Love you sunshine."

"I love you too Robbie."

He grabbed the light control and turned them off.

He kissed my cheek one last time then rolled over.

I feel better now.


	19. Test of Wills

(A/N: Keyboard is now fixed. Sorry about the delay.)

"Eeep!"

"It's still loading sunshine." I said calmly.

"Load faster!" She yelled, hopefully not at me.

"Excuse me?" I turned to face her.

She quickly looked apologetic. "Sorry, not talking to you, talking to the video."

I swung back around and smiled to myself.

_At least she wants this to work._

This has to be a great moment for her. After literally months of work we finally have a product for her devoted fans that made her trend earlier this week to enjoy. They definitely deserve it.

"90%! Yay!" Cat celebrated.

"Patience sweetheart. It's going to take a few hours or even longer to start getting concrete results and feedback." I gingerly tried tamping down her expectations. I don't want her glued to the computer screen when we're supposed to be eating out and going to the movies tonight.

After all, it is Wednesday.

I love how we've fallen back into the same old routine. Eating out too much, sleeping together, her attached to my side by invisible Velcro…I love all of it. Even if it's just seeing her shampoo bottle in the trash and on the shopping list. It means she's back in the center of my universe, where she has always belonged.

"EEEEEEEEPPP!"

95%.

She is now practically jumping up and down now, hair twirled around her fingers. The only people that know are Jade, Tori, Andre and Beck. Cat's going to send out a celebratory tweet the moment it reaches 100% and the world will likely explode at the exact same mom—

"YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYYYYYY!"

100%.

We're live.

Next thing I know Cat's typing furiously on her pearPhone, then tosses it onto the couch and jumps into my arms.

"Congrats sweetheart. I knew you could do it." I smiled at her, face buried in my chest.

She suddenly looked up and tears were falling silently.

_Oh crap…what'd I say?_

"Not always…"

Cat…

"Please don't bring that up today sweetie. Please. You just accomplished something great. Now let's go out and celebrate with everyone." I told her, pulling her back into my arms.

"Ok…I'm ready to show you what I've gotten done tomorrow ok?"

"Sounds like a plan. Just promise you'll have fun tonight?" I asked.

"Promise." She smiled, pecking me on the lips. I couldn't hold myself back from grabbing her and kissing her for real.

Then we fell back onto the couch, and then it was 5 o' clock.

"Oh man…" She mumbled, cheeks flushed.

"We've had too much fun." I smiled, causing her to smile.

"Knock Knock."

_That's the door._

Cat hopped off me, gathered her shirt and sprinted upstairs at the speed of light.

I didn't even have time to stand before the door opened and Jade stood before me.

"Hey, forget to brush your hair?" She smirked, sitting right where Cat was not a minute earlier.

"Huh? It's messed up?" I played dumb.

_Of course, Cat had her hands in my hair._

"Very messed up." She said, running her hands on top of my hair and making a move to kiss me. I put my hand up to stop her and she kissed my palm.

"What?" She asked after opening her eyes.

I pointed to the stairs, implying Cat.

"What?" She repeated.

"I'm trying to get her into a routine and trying to get her to relax. She's taking a shower and if she sees us she'll freak out."

"So?" She retorted.

I rolled my eyes. "She didn't like the idea of us last time it came up, and it's no different now."

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah! I'm not going to be part of the reason she goes back to Methodist!" I snap.

"You weren't the only reason she went you know. She said she was stressed about you yes, but also shopping, and her family, and other guys and—"

"Jade. I never told you why she left my house in the first place. She saw me with Laken. I never introduced the two of them and Laken said she never spoke to Cat. I think Cat somehow found out, and left my house right before she went to Methodist."

Jade looked slightly surprised and just sat there for a moment before…

"That's why she was freakishly muttering…"

"Laken." I finish for her.

"Did you ever consider telling any of the Methodist people—?"

"I did. I don't know if they did anything. And anyway, aren't you supposed to be making a move on Beck instead of kissing me?" I questioned, trying to sound upset.

"I—Uhh…yeah." She sputtered.

"Good. I don't want to get in the way of that ok? Beck and Jade is going to happen."

She blushed madly. "So…I can't kiss you anymore?"

"You can, but on the cheek."

She looked embarrassed, on the verge of being humiliated. "Ar—Are you mad at me or something? It's ok if you are, it's just…"

"Sudden?" I threw out there. I never had protested before now. And here I am calling an end to it.

"Yeah. But seriously, are you mad?" She asked, slowly regaining some of her color.

"No, I just don't want to twist you around anymore."

"But you aren't twisting me—"

"Then you're not going to twist and confuse yourself." I said simply.

She blinked a few times, then seemed to accept it. "Ok, I assume Cat is here?"

"Yeah." I said.

"Right here." Cat said, brushing her hair and now wearing a red shirt of mine and black shorts.

"Hey!" Jade perked up, turning and hugging her.

Cat turned and said something, but the door silently opened behind them. I barely saw it over the top of the banister of the stairs.

_What the…_

I started to get to my feet but Beck suddenly appeared in the kitchen, waving me down frantically.

Then I saw a flash of jeans and shoes that Andre would wear.

Suddenly Cat had her eyes closed and Jade was sitting right next to me.

"It's our surprise for her releasing her single." She whispered.

Next thing I heard Andre's voice start coming out of my speakers.

Suddenly I knew exactly what was going on.

_They're performing for her._

Great idea. She loves it when the others perform. I can remember a few times off the top of my head when Andre and Tori performed, but not just Andre.

_Where is—_

"All of my attention baby, all of my extra time…There's nothing I wouldn't give you, if you were mine…"

Cat's eyes flew open and looked ecstatic.

This sounds incredible.

(A/N: Ok guys, tomorrow the new single "Countdown" is coming out on iTunes and the full preview is on AOL right now. The song is great, and is the one Andre and Tori are singing now. Hope you like it!)

Suddenly Andre stepped forward and lifted up Cat's chin and looked right at her.

"Oooooh, ooooh, oooooh….Ten: You're beautiful. Nine: You're amazing. Eight: You're contagious every time I look at you. Six: You're a star. Five: Who you are. Four, three: I know you want me, just know that I want you two. You're the one…you're the one…you're the one…"

I think Cat might faint.

This is quite a show.

Tori's doing quite a good job behind Andre, but this appears to be Andre's song. So she's just doing background vocals and dancing.

I like this little statement by Andre. He is the sixth wheel, but he never complains.

Plus this is REALLY good.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, it's a countdown." Andre finished, standing over Cat with a scowl that quickly turned into a smile and she basically tackled him into a hug.

"That was amazing!" She yelled, as I smiled at Tori.

"I think she liked it." I told her as she hugged me.

"Hey, it's a big day. She deserves a good performance of her own." Tori smiled as Cat came and hugged her.

Beck and Jade had apparently struck up a conversation, leaving Andre to deal with me.

Fine by me.

"Dude." I smirked, pulling him into a hug.

"Haha! I thought you liked it. Your jaw dropped about halfway thru." He smiled.

"When'd you write that?"

"A while back. I couldn't think of a place to put it, and then Cat texted about Put Your Hearts Up and it hit me." He explained.

Cat turned to face us. "Can I have a copy of that?"

"The song?" Andre asked.

Cat nodded.

"Where's your computer?" He turned to me, pulling out a flash drive.

He's a genius.

"Follow me." Cat perked up, leading him to the office.

"He's so underrated." I mused, as everyone turned to me.

"Oh yeah." Beck smiled.

"You guys have plans for tonight?" Tori asked, poking my shoulder.

"Cat and I?"

"No, David Spade and me." Jade rolled her eyes.

"Uhh…"

_How do I explain it without it sounding like a date?_

"Cat wants to get away from the pressure of tonight and go see a movie."

Cue weird looks.

"Really now. Dinner?" Beck smirked.

"No idea. I just know about the movie."

"Ok. Thanks for telling us." Tori said.

"Were you going to invite us somewhere?" I tentatively asked.

"Yeah, Chinese or something. But we can do it tomorrow if you'd rather go with Cat." Tori told me.

I could feel their looks. I think if I looked up a dagger would be above my head.

"I'd rather go with Cat and eat out with you tomorrow if that's ok."

Jade didn't look surprised. "Cool. She'll be happy to just chill with you."

"Yeah, we're both so busy doing stuff we don't get to relax much."

_Such a lie it's not even funny. Most of our days are TV and music, with make out breaks._

"Gotta keep her happy." Andre smiled, coming back into the room.

"Otherwise she might leave. And you don't want that…" Jade teased.

"Hey. She's not there mentally. I'm not thinking about…that." I snap.

"Bull—spit."

She doesn't swear around the others. But I don't really care.

And she just slipped up.

You could read the others surprise. Cat's eyes widened as she stepped back into the room, while Beck made a reproachful noise and Tori frowned.

"Anyway, thanks for having us Robbie." Andre smiled.

"Anytime, especially if you perform like that more." I joked, causing everyone to laugh.

Cat hugged him as he replied. "We'll see."

The others hugged her, and by the time Jade was done, she was blinking back tears.

"I'm gonna go change then we can go ok?" She croaked, hugging me.

"Sure. Congrats again." I kissed her hair.

"Thanks…and thanks for turning them down to hang out with me." She looked at me, adulation evident.

"Anytime for you. I don't get many dinner dates as you know…" I joked, causing her to swat my arm.

"Charmer…" She mumbled as she walked back upstairs.

I analyzed André's song while I was waiting, which has like 5 levels of tunes, and so many beats if I was being serious it would take like 2 weeks.

That's the nature of hip hop. It's not at all simple. Cat's has like 3 levels and complex beats, but it can be untangled and singled out.

Not with—

"I'm ready…" Cat whispered, kissing my neck.

_She's got that perfume on again._

Distract yourself Robbie.

"Great." I turned to see her in a stunning pink dress that somehow could pass as a normal outfit. I odn't know how. I just know I love it.

She followed me out to my sports car and hopped in.

Then she messed up. Out came the cancer sticks.

Luckily, I was on the streets. Otherwise I would have stopped where I was.

She had rolled down the window and was about the light up when—

"If you do that I'm not kissing you all night." I snap. "You'll ruin that intoxicating perfume."

She turned to me, looking doubtful.

_She thinks she can make me break on this. _

Bad choice on her part.

"You won't."

She moved back to light up, but in one motion I grabbed it, rolled down my window and chucked it outside.

Leaving her speechless.

"Robbie!"

"Hey, I'm protecting my investment. You try it again and it's the lighter." I frowned.

"But—"

"We're here." I said, unbuckling and stepping out.

We were silent as the waitress seated us. We've wanted to come here for a while. It's a high class Chinese place.

"Robbie—"

"Caterina." I replied.

"I get that you don't like it, but you are being mean."

"Cat, you know why I hate it. And my biggest fear is losing you forever. I refuse to let you try to let my worst nightmare come true."

"But it's my choice." She retorted.

"Seriously, are you going to continue to fight me on this? The longer you go the longer this will linger. It's the only issue right now sweetheart." I reasoned.

"Yeah, but I should be able to do what I want."

"You understand why I don't want you to do it right?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Then I'll leave it there." I said.

"Thanks Robbie." She said, grabbing my hand with her left under the table.

_Wait…_

What was that? On her hand?

_No._

NO!

I quickly grabbed her hand and looked at it.

It's not a wedding ring.

_She's not cheating. Thank god._

Wait…its familiar though.

I barely heard her giggle as I looked at it closer.

…

_It's the promise ring._

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes.

She just giggled.

"Cat…"

"You like it?" She asked, holding it up to the light.

"I…"

Hello speechlessness.

"Are you capable of talking?" She poked my shoulder, smiling.

"I don't think I am."

She rolled her eyes. "Then I'll explain. I grabbed it the other night before we went to bed. I was nervous that I wasn't being fair to you."

"Cat, you're fine."

Suddenly the waitress came with our orders.

"Can we resume this after we eat? I'm hungry." Cat said.

"Sure."

We devoured the food, which was good. Not stellar, but passable. I'd come back.

At least the bill was manageable. $35 bucks for free refills, appetizer and two entrees. I'll take it.

We walked back to the car, my anticipation slowly building.

_Why is she wearing that ring again?_

Could it really mean what I hope it does?

I hopped in the driver's seat and moved to start the engine, but Cat plopped on top of me, blocking me.

"Can I finish?"

It's like a video game. She just pressed pause.

"Sure."

"I…I just want to be fair and not yank you around anymore. I hate hurting you. Especially when I'm starting to fix you." She explained.

"I'm fine Cat."

"You're getting there." She retorted.

"Whatever."

"Anyway…I'm making my commitment now. Which is why I'm wearing it. Last time I was uncomfortable with it because it was a "I'm taken" sign."

She stopped and smiled at me.

"Which now is the truth."

No way…

"What are you saying here Cat?" I asked nervously.

"Cut to the chase?"

I nodded. She smiled and put her head on my shoulder.

"Will you be my boyfriend please?" She whispered into my ear.

I couldn't hold in my smile as I pulled her in and kissed her. She quickly reciprocated, and I found myself grabbing her…where I now can, but she wasn't expecting it.

"Where'd you learn it was ok to grab me there?" She looked at me weird.

"Uhh…"

Stephanie is the answer, but I can't say that.

"Nowhere." I defensively said.

"Do it again." She growled as she kissed me again.

Every time I moved my hands she purred, and she eventually started going after my shirt.

Then she stopped.

"Let's go home. I want to relax with you. Plus I might just lose it and I can't have you at a movie." She gasped, head on my chest.

Let's just say I drove like a maniac home. Her in my lap all the way.


	20. Concessions

(A/N: Cat and Robbie are playing War. It's a card game. Google for details. It's fun.)

5.

I put down a 8.

Cat frowned.

9.

King for me.

_Now I have to put down 3 cards._

6…Jack!

_Yes! Beat that!_

6.

Cat quickly threw her hand down, handily beating me.

"Yay!" She celebrated.

How did she get a sandwich? Seriously? I had her beat with that jack.

But she threw down that damned six.

"All luck. That's all luck." I shook my head, reaching for my stack, as Cat smiled.

We're waiting for 7 to come, since we're supposed to eat out with the others tonight. Last night…

Everything was fixed.

(Flashback)

"_Robbie…please…" She yanked on my sleeve._

"_Cat. I understand you want me to fix this…but still. It just happened." I tried reasoning with her._

"_But I'm ready. C'mon." She begged me._

_And I just caught my breath. Plus the couch isn't where I'd like to relapse._

"_Cat. We haven't even been a couple for two hours."_

"_Yeah we have! We were so good! Trust me! I'm on birth control and everything!"_

"_Cat. That's not the issue. Ok? It's a timing thing."_

"_But I am ready! They messed me up, and I still feel dirty. Please Robbie, come on!"_

"_Why do you want to always go so fast?" I asked._

"_Because it gets to me! They had their way with me, and I want you to fix it!"_

_I open my mouth to retort, but I just get air._

"_Me?"_

"_Yes…" She smiled. "You."_

"_Fine." I picked her up._

_She just smiled._

(End Flashback)

6.

Cat giggled.

Queen for me.

_Two. This better—_

SIX!

I threw my hand, only for Cat's to slam into mine, ring leading the way.

"OW!" I yelped, pulling my hand back.

"I win! Hehe!" She celebrated.

"No! I won, you broke my finger and I pulled back!" I yelped. My hand is throbbing. I doubt she broke it, but it sure feels like it!

"Relax Robbie, it's just a game…Where are you going?" She asked as I turned to go to the kitchen.

"Ice!" I called back.

Her hurried footsteps came closer as I opened the freezer and grabbed the flex ice pack.

"Let me see it." She demanded.

"No, Ice now." I replied.

"But I want to know if you're messing with me." She frowned.

I grudgingly opened it up and let her inspect it. It was bright red and starting to swell already.

And then I threw the ice back on.

When I looked back up Cat pulled herself to me.

"I'm sorry Robbie…I didn't mean to hurt you." She said quietly.

"It's ok, just hurts." I shrugged.

I hate to placate her, but man this hurts!

"Do you want me to kiss it to make it feel better?" She asked, eyes pleading with me.

"Cat, that doesn't really work."

"Yeah it does! Remember when I slammed the SUV door on my hand? You kissed it and it felt better." She pouted, trying to remove the icepack.

"But we gave you some aspirin and ice too. Don't forget that." I jumped in.

"Let me kiss it!" She said, glaring at me.

Trying to make me give in.

"Will you stop nagging me about it?" I asked.

She nodded rapidly.

"Fine…" I sighed.

Before I knew it the cold of the ice was replaced by Cat kissing my knuckles and running her hands on the side of my ribs.

Bye bye pain. Hello Cat. My wonderful girlfriend.

Before I knew it Cat was standing on my feet, and her tiptoes and kissing me, all the while linking her hands behind my back.

_Intoxicating. _

Good thing being love drunk isn't illegal. Otherwise I would have been locked up a long time ago.

Cat slipped her hands under my shirt and leaned us against the wall, still going at it. I wasn't even thinking about the plans for tonight.

Just enjoying Cat and being so close to her.

"So…I had a feeling this was going on." A familiar voice called out.

But I didn't hear.

All I felt was Cat stop kissing me and a scream go right into my ears.

"AAAHHHHHHH!"

I collapsed to the ground and covered my ringing ears. Someone's laughter floated to me as Cat dashed to a figure with flats on.

_It's a girl?_

I close my eyes and try to regain my focus, which was shunted aside when Cat kissed me and shattered when she screamed.

I opened my eyes to Cat whacking Jade's arm fiercely and someone yelling.

_Wait…JADE!_

"—why did you DO that? I was trying to make him feel better!" Cat yelled.

"I can tell." Jade smiled deviously.

"No! We were playing war and I bruised his hand! I really was trying to make him feel better!"

"From my angle he was fine. His hands were perfectly functional." Jade rolled her eyes.

"It was a distraction! His hand got bruised when we were playing war." Cat said, pointing to where the ice pack was before I picked it back up.

"Is it really hurt?" She asked me, head cocked to the side.

"Yeah, it is. Nice entrance." I grumbled.

"Uh oh…he's mad." She playfully teased.

"Of course! We're now in a pointless conversation and he's hurting." She frowned at Jade.

She then turned to face me. "Aspirin?"

"Yes please." I replied, and she dashed off.

"So…" Jade said, her smile creeping into her words. I couldn't look up.

This wasn't exactly how she was supposed to find out. And she'll inevitably tell the others.

"Care to look up?" She chided.

"Not really." I said quietly.

"Does your hand really hurt?"

"Yeah. Her ring came down right on top of my hand."

I glanced up to her cringing and step forward to look at my hand.

It seemed as soon as she grabbed my hand, Cat was back. And boy she looked mad.

Jade practically jumped away and I took the water and aspirin thankfully.

"Thanks sunshine." I said, pulling her into a hug.

"So when are we heading to dinner?" Cat asked Jade kindly, adding a smile to the end.

"Umm…whenever. I don't think anyone has a problem with going anytime." Jade said.

"Ok, I'll call Tori and Beck and be right back." She said, dashing out of the room.

Jade opened her mouth to reply, but Cat was gone and left her gaping like a fish.

"You think she's mad at me?"

"No." I said truthfully. "I think she's upset you barged in and didn't come back later, but nothing we can do about that now."

"I'm happy for you guys. I was hoping that this would end this way."

"What?" I asked.

"Her coming here. Part of the reason why that was the only option really discussed was that everyone wanted to see if you guys could get back together."

_Only option discussed?_

"Everyone?"

"Yeah. Me, Tori, Andre Beck and your parents. We were thinking of options and this is where we all thought she belonged." She explained.

"But you were mad." I asked.

"Only because I thought you took her without her consent and she didn't tell me where she was, leading me to freak out and wonder where she was. I always wanted you guys to get back together. You shouldn't have broken up in the first place."

"But Jade, that was a different time. It was senior year, we had 2 crazy guys coming after us, my parents were out of the country and other stuff too! That's an incredible amount of stress and we were 17 and 18."

"And now you're both 19."

"Jade. We'll be fine." Cat snapped. "And they said they'll meet us at the restaurant."

"Where are we going?" I asked quietly.

"Peppers." Jade replied.

"Sounds great." I said.

"Uh huh. I'll let you guys get ready and meet you there ok?"

"Ok." I hugged her, and Jade walked to her car. As soon as the door closed Cat had me in a soft hug.

"You ok?" I asked.

"She's gonna tell everyone. It's not fair." She pouted.

"Life isn't fair. But you know what?"

"What?" She asked, sounding annoyed.

"I have you and they don't. So I win."

She giggled and snuggled close to me.

"Do I win too?"

"I think so. What do you think?"

"I think I won the championship."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks sweetie. I appreciate the compliment."

She simply smiled back and started dragging me to the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked, as she pulled it open.

"To eat. The others might be waiting for us." She said simply.

"Don't you want to get ready or something?"

She never just "leaves". She preps…and tinkers…then leaves. After 30 + minutes.

I try to keep it off my nerves. It's not hard since she looks gorgeous every time. But still, it's 30 minutes I'll never get back.

"Nope. I think I look great." She smiled.

Or radiated. She's practically glowing.

"I think so too." I teased as I unlocked the door and climbed in.

"You're too sweet." She said as I started the car.

"Nah. It's the truth."

"Do you think the others will pester us about it?" Cat asked, sounding kind of scared. One glance confirmed my suspicions. She had her hair in her mouth.

"Nah. They didn't last time."

"But it was summer last time." She argued.

"You just love to play devil's advocate don't you?" I smirked.

"Yeah, hence the red hair." She stuck her tongue at me.

"Don't tempt me girl. I wish Jade hadn't have interrupted us."

Her eyebrows shot into her hair. "Oh really. What are you trying to say?"

"Just that I missed your kisses." I admitted.

She giggled and blushed.

"But seriously Cat, I think we'll be fine." I said.

"What if they give us a hard time?"

"Don't fight them on it. Just shrug it off and we'll go see that movie afterward." I told her.

Immediately she replied. "But CTC starts tomorrow."

Damn it!

I completely forgot. I got my schedule a few days ago, and got what I wanted. Cat seemed pleased. All I know is that we have Sikowitz together.

We've been slowly readjusting to a reasonable schedule, with the exception of last night.

But everyone is allowed to live a little.

"Dang it. I forgot." I groaned.

"Phooey."

"Phooey indeed." I joked, causing her to burst into a giggling fit.

"You have such a subtle sense of humor Robbie. I love it so much." She smiled.

On that note, we climbed out of the car. The drive seemed to fly by. But that tends to happen when you are talking with the girl of your dreams that is actually yours in reality.

Dinner was nice. Quiet. Just celebrating Cat's hard work and determination. She seemed to loosen up after nobody brought up seeing her on top of me in my kitchen, and made my night easier.

And now I'm on the couch, watching the rerun of some 90's movie that was good, but overplayed. Forget the name.

"YES!" Cat yelled from the office upstairs. She came sprinting down and jumped into my lap.

"Guess what?" She smiled.

"What?" I played along, eliciting another giggle.

"I got a job!"

_WHAT?_

"A job? Why do you need a job?" I asked, less than pleased.

"To pay you back."

"You don't need to pay me back. Why do you think that?" I asked.

"Your dad. He showed me the whole car thing and the bills you covered and said I could get in IRS trouble if I don't pay you some back. Something about a claim you made on your taxes?"

Oh right…I said I was supporting a medical liability. Temporary, but I saved money and I did it on Dad's insistence.

And now Cat has a job.

RIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL!

I laid my head back onto the pillows and groaned. "This has the recipe of a disaster."

"Why?" She asked.

"Cat, you haven't gone to college in a year. It's gonna be a adjustment. A difficult one. But with a job…it's that much harder."

"You sound like you don't want me to do it."

"I don't." I plainly stated.

"But Robbie…I do owe you some money. And that's not cool. You can't just go around eating $17,000 in bills from me just because you love me."

"How about you use some of the severance package you got? That's more than enough to cover it." I suggested.

"Nope. Remember, IMG is contesting my sanity and we don't have that money. Plus our other plans for it!"

Oh yeah.

The baby fund. In case something happens, we have some cash we can spend in a pinch if 2 becomes 3.

"Ok, where did you get hired?"

"Cali Roadhouse."

"Again?" I blurted out, causing her to jump.

That was a disaster last time.

"Yeah…they said they wanted me back and even offered a pay raise." She smiled.

"But…you remember what happened last time right?" I asked. The whole memory issue never really got addressed. Or at least I never asked.

"Yeah. I remember everything Robbie. The only thing I don't remember is that mental snafu. I remember everything up to that and all of Methodist and to now."

"Ok, last time was a disaster." I said.

"Only because of drunken frat boys. I'll be 20 soon Robbie, don't forget."

I could help but laugh. "My 20 year old girlfriend. I'll have to do something creative that day huh?"

She rolled her eyes.

I extended my arms to her and she hugged me softly.

"Just promise that you'll let me help you ok? If you need it. I'm on your side."

"Ok. You want something to drink?" She asked.

"Sure."

In a moment or two she came back with two dark drinks in different glasses.

"Thanks…what is this?" I asked, taking one as she sat next to me.

"Try it. You've had it before."

Coke…and a sweet taste. Vanilla?

"Vanilla coke?" I asked.

She looked mildly impressed. "Close. Closer than I expected."

"But we don't have vanilla coke." I said, confused.

"I just said that's not it."

I racked my brain…and I still have no idea what it is.

"I give. What is it?" I asked. She stood up, grabbed my glass and walked out of the room.

"That wasn't what I asked!" I jokingly called out.

A moment later she came back with two cans of coke and glasses in hand and placed them on the coffee table.

Then left again.

"Where'd y—"

"Right here, easy. I didn't go anywhere." She cooed, carrying a Jack Daniels bottle.

_Wait…she spiked my drink!_

"You didn't…" I quietly said. She seemed to enjoy my astonishment as she proceeded to make the next round right in front of me.

"Yep." She giggled, handing me my glass back.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, I need a little practice and this is the most ordered drink other than beer and I don't like beer." She said quietly, sipping her glass.

I agree on the beer. Disgusting in my opinion. Never understood why people like it.

"I don't taste the jack at all." I commented.

"That's because I don't want you wasted tomorrow. And I did it right. Which is good."

I laughed. "I appreciate you thinking of my wellbeing."

This is nice. I never thought I'd say I was enjoying a quiet night of dinner and talking with Cat before I was like 30. It's an old person thing. An adult thing. But here I am with the drink, the girl and the conversation.

"You like it?"

"I have a hard time turning down another." I smiled, causing her to blush.

"Ok. You're halfway done. I'm not doing more than 4." She said, taking my glass.

"But I already have had 2."

"The first one doesn't count." She stated.

"Huh?"

She was quiet as she measured the ingredients and handed it to me then sat next to me. "The first one chased away your concern. Now you've relaxed and having fun."

"You are all about the fun huh?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's time to make mistakes while we can get off scot free."

"Good point." I conceded.

Suddenly, she raised her glass in a toast. "To a great new semester?"

"And to us." I smiled.

"Clink!"

A/N: Ok guys, hope you like the chapter. I know teen drinking is kind of a touchy subject, but I couldn't skirt the issue. It happens. I hate to admit I do it but I do. As long as you are smart and stay within your limits you are usually fine. I don't want people to drink, but I can't go say "Don't drink!" and go to sleep without thinking I'm a hypocrite. I just want to level with you guys because you have stayed loyal thru this almost year long saga that is slowly wrapping up. Thanks for reading as always. :)


	21. Acclimate

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ!

I leaned over and smacked the alarm's snooze button. Cat immediately snuggled close to me and sighed.

"It's time already isn't it?"

"Yeah." I said, sitting up.

She groaned and sat up too. "I'm kind of excited. I have a deadline and stuff to do daily."

"You're tired of doing just song stuff?"

"Yeah! I love it…but after a while it loses its fun." She said softly.

"I understand." I smiled, kissing her cheek.

She replied by giving me a kiss and saying "Good morning. Omelet?"

"Sounds awesome. I'll be down in 20 minutes." I smiled.

"Ok!" She bounced, getting up and heading downstairs.

This is going to be a odd week. CTC is trying something new this semester. Instead of starting on a Monday and running a full week, they're going to gently start on a Wednesday and have you take you normal ratio of classes of two, which is Wednesday and Friday, to one Thursday class. Then next week you're already acclimated to times and the spacing of classes and hit the ground running.

One thing that won't help things is my back. All the twisting around I did made it really sore and painful just to turn and grab the shampoo.

I take my time and get downstairs 10 minutes late, but we have plenty of time. Cat and I both wanted extra time in case traffic was bad or we forgot something. My plate was next to hers under the heat lamp and the OJ pitcher was sitting out, glasses next to it.

She second she saw me she looked at me weird. "You ok?"

"Stiff. Slept weird or something." I say casually, moving to grab the OJ since I know she always grabs the—

_Omelets?_

Where'd she go?

"Cat?" I called out.

"Just a minute!" She cried out.

_She's upstairs._

I go ahead and set the stuff on the table and turn around just in time to see aspirin and water.

"Just thought it would help." She said simply, with a coy smile. I placed a kiss on her hair and sat down to eat.

"Is this going to be a regular thing?" I asked, midway thru my helping.

"That's what I was thinking. It's healthy, with the eggs and protein and stuff. Plus it's yummy."

I laughed and she snatched some of mine.

"Hey!" I cried out, stealing some of hers.

Which launched us into a fierce battle that ended up in us finishing the others omelet and fighting over the bacon.

"Hah! I win!" Cat smiled.

Only because I don't want to lift you up and dangle you by your leg.

We spent the next 10 minutes prepping for school and I threw my backpack in her SUV. At least we'll save gas money this way. Even with the SUV.

Before I was expecting her, she had straightened her hair and deftly made herself up.

"Ready?" She piped up.

"Let's go." I smiled.

Cat took control of the radio this morning and decided to listen to some local talk show, which mainly talked about boring celebs mowing their lawns or going out to dinner or other routine stuff.

"We're here already?" Cat asked, as I pulled into the drop off lane by the Architecture building.

"Yeah. Traffic was weird." I replied.

"More like nonexistent." She mumbled, causing me to smirk.

"So whatcha got today?" I asked, trying to find out when I could pick her up and head back home. Yeah, I haven't even gone inside and I want to go home.

"Umm…Geometry first. Then Décor and Design and finally Sikowitz with you!" She smiled at the end.

That's not the best part though.

I have Geometry first too.

"What about you?"

"I don't have anything until 11 where I have History to present, then Sikowitz." I bluffed. I want to surprise her.

"Then why are you here? You could be sleeping!" She chided me.

"Eh. I wanted to drive you here on the first day. It's kind of big after all." I reasoned, causing her to giggle.

"You're the best boy on the planet. And I love you." She smiled, kissing me swiftly.

"You too sunshine."

We both just sat there for a moment, and then she seemed to realize she better go.

"I don't wanna go."

"I don't either." I groaned.

"But I have to. Do you think you could text me occasionally?" She asked, coming for a hug.

"Of course." I whispered in her ear, hugging her back.

She then wordlessly grabbed her backpack and opened the door, closed it and waved to me before walking to the door.

_It's like me saying that gave her the strength to go do this._

Hmm. Interesting.

I pulled out of the drive in area and drove for a minute or two more before finding a parking sopt and making my way into the building.

Room 347

3rd Floor.

I took the elevator up, only to be disturbed by my phone vibrating.

_I hope she isn't calling me._

I quickly snatched it up.

1 new message:

_These lecture places look really cool._

I walked out the elevator, thinking of a reply to her without giving myself away.

Then I walked all the way down to the hall to an auditorium marked 347.

_I think it's too late to reply to her text._

The second I opened the door I saw her, sitting in the middle with her hair down while looking at something in her lap.

_Her phone._

She wants me to reply. She's trying to will me to reply.

_How about in person?_

I slowly crept to her, and saw her staring at her phone in her lap, backpack under her seat.

It's fascinating how she's just staring at it. Not moving.

Just staring.

"This room does look cool." I say quietly, causing her to jump out of her skin.

"Robbie!"

Like I just came home.

I was only gone a max of 5 minutes.

"Hey." I smiled as she hugged me.

"Why are you here?"

"I can't miss syllabus day." I said, rolling my eyes.

Her face split into a gigantic smile. Then it fell.

"You lied to me."

"Only to make you happy later." I reasoned,

"But still."

"I just wanted to surprise you." I told her, claiming the place to her left.

She seemed to debate the situation in her head for a moment.

"Just to make me happy?"

"Yep." I smirked, grabbing my notebook that I know I'll only use once. That's why I grabbed the same one I did from last semester's math. After today I'll print out the notes and discard this notebook. Maybe forever. It might become a source for grocery lists.

I won't need it after today. This is my last "First" day of a math class. I won't need any more for my major, Theater Productions.

Cat could use it I guess. This is her first Math at CTC. I actually have no idea how she is at math. She could be a genius for all I know.

The room is mainly full, and some middle eastern guy is setting up the laptop for our prof to use. It's 9, so it should be—

"Hello everybody." The Middle Eastern man said.

_OH NO._

He's our professor.

I barely understood him.

Cat quickly leaned over to me. "What did he say?"

No idea.

"Welcome to Elements of Mathematics, I am your professor, Zaid."

I know English's word order is messed up, but this is ridiculous.

I glanced at Cat who looked terrified.

"Hey." I said quietly. "Look at me."

She turned to me, hair in her hands.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't understand him. I think I'm going crazy." She said, sounding frantic. I grabbed her hands.

"Hey. I can barely understand him. Don't worry."

She looked at me, clearly looking for something to reassure her.

Then the class burst into voices and sighs.

"What did he say?" I quickly asked the girl behind me.

"The notes and take home quizzes are online."

Whew.

Cat looked thrilled.

Then I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"I don't mean to bug you, but would you happen to have a girlfriend?"

_Didn't she just see me talk to Cat so close to me?_

"Yeah…I do. Sorry." I said, frowning. She's pretty, but Cat's a million times better.

"It's ok." She said, looking crestfallen.

I turned back to Cat trying, successfully for the most part, to hold back her smirk.

_You know what, screw it. The notes are online and I'm decent at math. I'll text Cat all period._

"Why so happy?"

Her screen flashed and she momentarily looked confused before reading it, smirking again and typing a reply.

"_She's gorgeous. And you picked me."_

"But you ARE my girlfriend. The one I've been chasing for years now. No cute girl in Geometry is going to change us."

As soon as she read it she 'Eeep'-ed. As in "Eeep!"

Causing half the row to stare at us. Oh well. Go on. Stare.

"_You're trying to charm me into getting you lucky tonight aren't you?"_

Uhh…

"No, I mean it. But if that ends up being the end result I'm not going to protest."

She might feint with how forward and honest I'm being but hey. It's whatever right?

"_Oh Robbie…I'll see you tonight."_

Good. Anymore sex talk in class and I might explode with embarrassment.

Unfortunately, the guy droned on FOREVER on this stuff, unaware that seemingly everyone zoned out and was either sleeping or messing with their phones.

Until the pop quiz came out.

Nobody freaked out, since it's merely a attendance check with a grade attached. There are ways of getting around it, but it's easiest just to come and do the stupid thing yourself.

Finally he dismissed us and I managed to survive the bulrush outside just so I could get a peck on the lips from Cat then dashed to History.

It's ok…I guess. The prof is a Native American Man. Which is perfectly fine, don't get me wrong. I don't care. My professor could be purple but if he makes it interesting I couldn't care less.

But…he kept on going into these tangents on how Native Americans have been mistreated, bringing up examples that are beyond our time period of Reconstruction and sending the class into a unnecessary waste of time. THEN she goes right back into the notes so seamlessly I just sat there for like 5 minutes before I realized we were back on track and frantically started taking notes again.

Luckily, Sikowitz's room is exactly where it was last semester so I'm in no rush—

Oh Crap.

_I'm the last one in the room._

"And there's Mr. Shapiro. Come here good sir, and sit with your slacker friends." Sikowitz snapped, pointing to a chair in the front row next to Andre.

I barely glanced at the others and they all looked terrified as Sikowitz completely disregarded all of us, except for the occasional joke at our expense.

I think last semester went horribly wrong. We told him what happened with Cat. Apparently he went to see her once. Cat said it was nice to see him, she cried the whole time. But we haven't heard from our favorite coconut chugging Theater teacher in a few months.

But we didn't worry since we all got him as our professor. Why would we? It SEEMS fine.

We all paid rapt attention to him as he lectured on Russian Ventriloquism the whole time.

"Ok, you all may go." He finally said, and we all began to stand.

"But not you six." He said darkly.

_Oh DAMN! He's REALLY mad!_

It felt like a eternity as everyone else filed out and we sat back down. The order changed. Beck and Jade sat on one end together, bookended by Cat next to me with Andre and Tori in the middle.

Finally, the door closed and it was just us.

"So what did you think?" He asked, sounding chipper.

_WHAT?_

We all were silent for a moment.

"Huh?" Tori blurted out.

"What did you think? Of my lecture?" He smiled.

"It was great…"Cat mumbled, looking uncomfortable.

Jade then piped up "Kind of useless since nobody is a ventriloquist, but that's whatever."

"Eh." He shrugged. "It was a fluff piece. I was more watching you guys."

Again…silence.

"Huh?" Tori said again.

"What do you mean?" Beck asked, leaning forward.

"I'm thrilled you guys are back! Duh!" He smiled happily.

_Wait…he's not mad?_

"You're not mad?" Andre asked quickly.

"No! I'm ecstatic!"

"So you aren't mad for us abandoning you with strangers for a entire semester?"

"No! On the contrary, it actually made a lot of people competent now. So it might have helped some people." He stated.

"Were you acting?" I threw out.

"FINALLY!" Sikowitz yelled, causing everyone to jump and Cat to tumble over backwards.

I scrambled out of my chair to help her up as he said "We have a winner! Mr. Robbie Shapiro!"

Everyone let out nervous laughs as Sikowitz walked to Cat and hugged her.

"You ok sweetheart?" He asked. She nodded happily and hugged him again.

"Good. I've been worried."

"Worried? You could have called or something." Jade said, looking bemused.

Sikowitz suddenly looked awkward. "Yeah…I could have. But people lie on the phone and it's a lot harder to lie in person."

"We wouldn't have lied to you Sikowitz. You're a friend, not just a teacher." I stated, and most of the others nodded.

"Thanks Robbie. So how's everyone been?" He asked. Suddenly it was a hour later and we were recovering from laughing about one of Sikowitz's dates gone wrong. I would retell it, but it wouldn't be as funny and it's kind of X rated so…

"Oh crap! I have class in 30 minutes!" Jade exclaimed.

"Go go! We can talk later!" Sikowitz shooed her away, and she stood.

"Wait! Why don't you come to my house soon Sikowitz? My friend is making dinner. I think you'll like it."

"Dinner you say?" He replied, looking confused.

"Yeah, he owns a few restaurants and founded one." Cat piped up.

"Which one?"

"Chuy's on San Luanita." I say.

"No way! Chuy's is great! You know the owner?" He replied, looking stunned.

"Yep. He knew Robbie as a little bitty baby." Cat said, adding a twist to the word baby and poking me. I swatted he hand away softly, causing he to giggle.

"Thanks. I'm not intruding on something am I?" He asked.

"No!" Andre jumped in. "He's already invited us."

"Oh. That's great then. Do we have a day I can plan on?"

"Nope." I frowned.

"Oh. Ok. I have you numbers so you can call or text."

"Sounds good!" Tori called out, as everyone headed to the door.

I was the last one out, and the door had almost—

"ROBBIE!"

I poked my head back in. "Yeah, what's up?"

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you and Cat going out again?" He asked, looking hopeful.

"Yeah. We are. Could you tell?"

"YES!" He yelled, and punched the air. "Yeah, it was noticeable."

I laughed. "Later Sikowitz!"

"See ya Rob!"

I turned the corner and found Cat waiting for me.

"What did he want?"

"He wanted to know if we were back together."

She busted out her smile again.

"That must have been a fun answer."

"It was." I smiled back, adding a kiss to her hair.

AN: Hey Guys! Hope everyone is doing good. The reason why I'm writing this is…well…I have a idea. On a part 5. I'm not sure about it though. I want you guys opinion because this story, especially this part 4 is for all the people that have stuck with it for so long and I don't want to taint the rest with the last remaining part possibly. It's up to you. I usually don't ask for people to comment, but PLEASE do because this is FOR YOU. I can do it, but I won't if you guys don't want me to. I have other Ideas for stories for iCarly, Hunger Games and I am Number Four plus others I can't remember right now. I would write more but I've got to go to bed since I have to go be miserable in Dr. Kasschau's class tomorrow at 10-11. Blah. Later guys, and thanks for reading as always!


	22. Winds of Change

(A/N: I know I'm not great at sex scenes…but it was coming. The chapter really begins about halfway thru.)

Inhale…exhale.

I'm awake. Again. My sleep schedule has been thrown off by CTC so I've spent the last couple of days adjusting to it. But now I'm waking up at random times like right now.

3:34 AM.

Cat's out like a light, back turned to me and not snoring. She was last night.

She's also very warm, which is nice since it froze last night. No, you are correct in being confused. It's the end of August and last night's low was 26. 26!

I want to hold her close to me, but I don't want to wake her up.

But there are a lot of things I want that I can't have.

For example, remember how last time I didn't want to rush things and have her sleep with clothes on last time?

Well…yeah. She's in a t-shirt of mine and running shorts.

And I'm not happy.

Maybe it's because I didn't see much skin from anyone this summer with the super cold temps and all, but god I just want to see her in her bra.

Preferably kissing me.

The t-shirt looks good on her. It's a old Urban Phoenix one she sometimes wears. It's too small for me but she claims she can still smell me so here it is.

Mildly irritating me.

I've considered talking to her about it, until I remember she might still be gun shy about exposing herself to anybody after her…earlier this summer.

And since I don't want to be a jerk about it or scare her, I'm quiet.

Then I remember how she begged me to have sex with her, until I finally gave in. Even that night after we changed the sheets she put on shorts and a t-shirt and fell asleep.

That was night one.

I've lost track of what night it is.

I love sleeping with her though. I remember somebody telling me that people are hardwired to sleep with other people and that once you start, it's damn near impossible to stop. Millions of years of evolution make it hard to stop. For a reason after all, we have to continue as a species.

So like last night, I find myself with my hand on her ribs, massaging gently so I won't wake her up.

_Wait…_

She's moving.

Her arms are extended, legs flailing.

"No…no…don't eat him...no!"

_She's having a nightmare._

Should I wake her up? I want to, so I can comfort her, but…

She suddenly started shaking and flailing her arms and legs.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed, causing me to yell and fall off the bed.

_Ow._

Cat then poked her head over the bed, eyes wide.

"Robbie?"

"Hey." I said, climbing back up, Cat pulling on my arm to assist me.

"You ok?" She asked sweetly.

"Yeah, how are you? You looked like you were having a nightmare."

"You were awake?" She squeaked.

"Yeah. What happened?"

She shook her head and buried it in my shoulder. I hugged her gently and tried to stop her shaking.

"It was like that movie we saw. The Grey. You and me were stuck in the forest and wolves ate you."

I cringed. "That's not a good way to go."

"That's not funny at all Robbie and you know it." She snapped.

"I know. You'd have to send me to Methodist if something happened to you ok?"

She suddenly looked horror stricken. "I'm never bungee jumping ever."

_Huh?_

"Explain?" I asked.

"I've always wanted to bungee jump, but I don't want to send you to Methodist." She said hastily, hugging me tight.

"Great. And I won't jump off a mountain using that special suit."

She looked scandalized. "But that looks cool!"

"So I can do it?" I asked.

_Please say yes._

"Yeah! Bring me too!"

"Ok, you're coming."

"Yay!" She hugged me. Then we both were quiet.

Thump.

Thump.

I lowered my head to listen to her heart.

Thump thump.

Thump thump.

"How cold is it?" Cat asked quietly.

"My phone said 26." I replied. I saw Cat reach for my phone out of the corner of my eye.

"22."

"Damn. Even colder." I say, as Cat pulled herself to me. I put my hands on her ribs and tried to relax.

`"What's wrong?" She asked after a moment.

"Nothing."

"No, something is wrong. Usually you do something else. Something subtle but sexual. You aren't doing anything. What's wrong?"

I didn't reply.

"Is it something I can do?"

I kept quiet.

She slipped under my arm and looked at me.

"Hey. Tell me."

"Cat…"

She stared at me.

"I…" I began, but lost my nerve.

"You ok?"

"I…I can't say it."

"Why not?" She asked, looking worried.

"The words won't come. Can I text it?"

She nodded, handing me my phone and reaching for hers, pushing her chest to me.

I looked away and tried to think of the right words.

1 new message.

"Don't sugar coat. I wanna know." –Cat.

I simply smiled and typed.

_I hope she isn't mad…_

Her screen lit up. She tapped it and read.

Then hit the lock button and put it aside.

"Aww…is that really it?"

"Sorry I'm so weak." I mumbled.

"It's not weak. If you want me to show skin in bed, then fine. It's not like your demanding sex. Plus I know you like me showing skin."

"You don't mind?"

"No. Can you take your shirt off?"

I sighed and lifted it off. As soon as I lied back down she had her hands on my chest.

"You're lucky you're a girl. If I did that to you I'd get slapped." I sighed, and she ran her nails up and down my stomach.

"No, I'd moan and beg for more."

_WHAT?_

"Uhh…" I sputtered.

"You want top or bottom first?" She growled in my ear, still working my chest.

"Bottom."

She giggled. "You always enjoyed the show but enjoyed the sex more."

I blushed as the shorts came off.

She suddenly grabbed my hands and put them on her thighs.

"Do what you want. I don't care." She mumbled, tilting her head back and going for her shirt.

I tried not to look, but failed. Once she looked at me she smiled.

"You want me."

I do. Very badly.

I opened my mouth but she simply kissed me.

"Touch me…"

"Cat—" I started before she kissed me again, grabbing my hand and putting my hand at her entrance.

"Ohhhh…" She moaned the second she let go of my hand. I hadn't even done anything.

She arched her back when I did, and whimpered.

"Yes, yes please yes." She said, starting to grind me.

I roughly grabbed her behind her back with my other hand while I kept pleasuring her, encouraged by her various noises.

She was quickly getting wet, and I simply wasn't keeping up. She wasn't helping me or anything. Just indulging herself.

Until she took off her bra with one hand and grabbed me with the other.

Then I almost exploded.

Our voices started rising, the more worked up we got. It didn't take long for us both to be completely naked.

Finally, she looked at me and spread her legs.

"Oh, oh, ohhhh….YES! YES YES YES YES! Ohhhhhhh…"

Her losing it caused me to lose it with no time to pull out. I didn't realize it until it had already happened and I was thinking I should get off of her.

"Ohhh….Ohhhh….myyyy…god…"

Oh crap. I think I screwed up.

"That…I love youuuuu." I smiled before lying next to me.

"Love you too." I smiled.

"I don't want to go today." She pouted.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"4:30."

"We can still get some more sleep." I said.

"I think I'll do that." She sighed, snuggling against me. I closed my eyes and—

"BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ!"

I reached over and smacked the alarm off the bedside table, but did not silence it. I scrambled to get it and finally shut it off.

"You get it?" Cat mumbled, turning and lying facedown.

"Yeah. But not tired at all now."

"I'm still tired." She groaned.

"Sorry about that." I said sheepishly, rubbing my neck.

"Hey. Hey!" She yelled, causing me to look up.

"You were the best part ok? Just don't be surprised if I go back to sleep once we get done with class ok?"

"Fine by me." I shrugged.

"It's 8 right?" She asked.

"8:05 now." I deadpanned.

She giggled and said "Mind if I be lazy and skip breakfast?"

"As long as we have pepper's for lunch. I want one of those burgers." I replied.

"OOH! That sounds great for lunch!"

"Ok, well you better get going then."

She sighed and proceeded to the shower, where she smartly had assumed she would be exhausted this morning.

She didn't expect last night I don't think, but she was still happy.

Thankfully, she woke me up by crushing the first 3 songs before we got onto I-5. Then—

"Ugh." She sighed, throwing her head onto the dash, albeit softly.

Bumper to bumper. Damn.

The traffic and time went at a crawl and even the music rebelled.

"I don't want Nicki Minaj!" Cat yelled, turning it off abruptly.

"You ok?" I asked. She seemed to suddenly be mad.

"I want coffee. We should have made some." She said, looking tired.

"Why didn't we think of that?" I asked.

Then she looked like a burst of inspiration hit her. "I got it!"

"Talk to me sunshine."

She gave me her sneaky smile. "I go to Geometry and take the notes while you go to Jet Brew and get coffee for us."

"Why don't I pull off here and do that?" I asked, hitting the turnsignal.

But Cat leaned over and switched it off. "Because I'll be able to concentrate in Geometry since you won't be there."

"Oh really now?" I asked, half laughing.

"Yep. You're too fun." She smiled, pinching my cheek.

It took five more minutes for the cause of the logjam to appear.

"WHOA!" Cat yelled, lifting herself out of her seat.

_WOW!_

There's a 18 wheeler half dangling off the bridge. We're down to 3 lanes.

"Well that explains that." I said darkly.

"Hope the driver is ok." Cat squeaked, as traffic picked up and we drove past.

"That'll be some story." I said.

"More like a nightmare." Cat replied, as I pulled in to the drop off.

"Maybe." I conceded.

"Jade!" Cat yelped, opening her door and hugging her.

"Hi you two!" She smiled.

"Where'd you come from?" I asked.

"My 9 got cancelled and Beck is stuck in class with his keys." She frowned.

"Robbie's going to Jet Brew, you can give him some company!" Cat said excitedly.

"Ok." I said.

"Sounds fun." Jade smiled.

"Well that settles that." She smiled. "I'll see you later." She said to me, kissing my cheek.

She then allowed Jade to get in and waved before walking in.

"Don't tell the others about that. She's kind of paranoid about their reaction." I said.

"Ok. They're happy you know." She reasoned as I pulled back onto the main road and towards Jet Brew.

"How do they know?" I asked.

"Beck, Andre and Tori went to the mall before Cat released Put Your Hearts Up and saw you guys." She smiled.

"So you knew before you saw." I filled in the gaps.

"Yeah. I would have yelled if that was my realization moment. Let's go in ok?" She asked.

"Sure, why not?" I gave in.

_I guess they remodeled._ I thought as I stepped inside. Everything was retro and either wood or polished metal.

Jade was looking at the muffins so I stepped up to the register.

"Hi, can I have a Double Chocolate Latte and a Vanilla Frap?"

"Sure sir, $8.57."

"Oh! I'm sorry. Can you add 2 blueberry muffins to that and use that card for whatever she orders?"

The woman laughed. "Sure."

The rest of my order went smoothly, and hers as well until she tried to pay.

"Ma'am, he has you covered."

Jade whipped to face me and before she could retort I said "Howdy."

She burst into laughter and let me pay thankfully. She's made it an issue before.

"Will you ever stop that?" She asked as we walked back to the SUV.

"Nope. Never." I replied.

She sighed as we got in. "It's nice but not necessary EVERY time Robbie. Seriously."

"You're still working right?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Well I want to pay. I'm still making money off my book and the book deal is going to be lucrative. I'm never going to have to work for my security. I want to pay ok? You aren't as well off as me. Consider it as my gift to you for being such a amazing friend."

She immediately went red and tried to say something, to no avail.

"Ok….Thank You."

"No prob." I smiled, parking.

"Can I follow you to Cat?" She asked.

"Sure, we're going to have to wait." I prophesized. Our trip took about half of the class.

Sure enough, we ended up waiting until about 10 minutes left, when people started filing out. Once she spotted us she ran to us.

"YAY! Thank Y—Muffin! You're the best!" She smiled, kissing me again and hugging Jade.

She laughed and smiled. "Don't thank me, thank him."

She came back to me but I stopped her by saying "The only reason I got them was after I saw you looking at them."

She whipped back to Jade and hugged her again. Then hugged and kissed me again.

"You guys need to get on the same page next time." She smiled, taking a big bite.

Jade smirked and said "I gotta go to class."

"Me too, what do you have?" I asked.

"History."

"Score! Me too!" I said, high fiving her.

"Which one?"

"1877 to now."

"Yes!" I yelled, high fiving her again.

"Cool! Have fun! I'll just enjoy this muffin and coffee." Cat fake pouted.

"Oh easy. We know you're off to make something pretty in Design." I sniped, causing her to smile.

"Off we go?" I asked.

"Off!"

Class went by very quickly, partly due to Jade being there and partly because we got Jade's professor from last semester. She greeted him as class started and I met him. Turns out he's as funny as advertised. His stories can be a little rough but still are hilarious.

The best example is his motto: "Talk shit. Get hit."

Turns out he's a Atlantic City kid. Not the easiest part of the country. He's very smart and it's obvious he isn't the same guy from the first day. I'm glad I switched classes from crazy Indian guy from Wednesday.

We were still laughing about him as we walked into Sikowitz's.

"What's so funny?" Beck asked as Jade sat next to him and Cat basically willed me to her.

"Our history prof. He's great." I smiled.

"How so?"

Jade jumped in and told them about how he was afraid his kid died in his arms on the playground but instead had his air knocked out of him. The kid asked "Daddy, why do you look scared?"

We were all rolling when Sikowitz came in right at 11, apologizing for his lateness.

"But class starts at 11." Tori said.

"I should still get here earlier." He said, setting his bag aside.

"It's ok, did the latte people mess your order up?" Some guy in the back asked, smirking.

"Yeah."

The whole class burst into laughter, including him.

"Ok, enough laughter for the moment. ABC Improv! Time for the slackers to redeem themselves!" He said, to cheers from the rest of the class.

Looks like they livened up in our absence. This could be a fun time.

"Start with Q!" Sikowitz said, running and taking Jade's seat and pretending to look serious.

"Quit it!" Catt yelled, jumping away from me.

"Robbie!" Jade jumped in.

"Tori!" I called out. "Help me out?"

"Unnecessary." She said, kicking back next to the board.

"Very rude." I snipped, causing her to roll her eyes.

Tori is definitely the annoying popular girl from high school. She usually likes a set role, while the others like the roam around.

"We're not happy." Andre frowned, standing next to Cat.

"Exactly." Beck said.

"Yeah Yeah. What's your point."

"Zoinks! A ghost!" Jade jumped.

Easy cop out on Z. Smart.

"Afraid are we?" Tori sniped.

"Be quiet!" Jade shot back.

"Cut it out! He's being mean to me!" Cat cried, pointing to me.

"Dude, what did you do?" Andre asked.

"Exactly. Not vague." Beck stared.

"Freak!" Tori cried at Jade, distracting her.

"Go away you annoying—"

"Hey!" Beck said.

"It doesn't have to get sweary." I tried calming her down.

"Just because she's hot doesn't give her a free pass!" Jade argued.

"Knock it off you two. We need to focus on Robbie." Adre reeled them back in.

"Let's see…" I said quietly.

"More stalling." Jade tapped her foot.

"No. I'm trying to remember."

"Oh really?" Beck asked.

"Quit tapping!" Cat cried at Jade.

"Really now? Chill." Jade told her.

"Sigh." Beck groaned.

Again, smart cop out.

"Truth. Now." Tori called to me.

"Unless you want to feel the pain." Andre cracked hi knuckled.

"Very unlikely."

"We don't want that." Jade said, inspecting her nails.

"Except I didn't do anything!" I called out, sounding scared.

"Yeah right."

"Zebra!" Cat yelled, dashing off.

"As I said. I didn't do anything!"

"But she said—"

"C'mon. Who are you going to believe? Me or her?" I asked.

Cat was playing with Sikowitz's hair as he tried not to laugh.

"Definitely you." Tori called out.

"Ok! That's enough. Good job. You've redeemed yourself." Sikowitz smiled.

"Yay!" Cat said.

"Stop playing with my hair!" He cried, getting away from her.

Cat looked crestfallen. "Phoo."


	23. In the Shadows

I yawned and ran my hands thru my hair.

_I need coffee. I should have stopped by Jet Brew before we imprisoned ourselves here._

"Hi!" Cat's voice said behind me. I turned to see her holding two drinks from Jet Brew.

"Are you psychic or something? I was just regretting not getting some before we came." I said, as she extended her right hand and handing me the large drink.

"No, but my 9 got cancelled so I got Jade to take me to Jet Brew and picked this up for us. I think you'll yawn less." She smiled deviously, as the wonderful taste of my caffeinated Frappuccino came to me.

Just blinking made me feel like I was coming out of a fog.

"Better?" She smiled, settling in next to me.

"Much better." I smiled, kissing her cheek.

"Eep!"

I couldn't hold in my laugh.

"If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have come today." I admitted, as Cat laid her head on my shoulder.

"Same here. Psychology is boring."

"I hope I don't fall asleep, even with the coffee." I blinked, eyelids still heavy.

"Urrgh." Her eyelids were closed.

"Hi guys!" A cheerful and familiar voice drifted to us. I opened one eye and saw what looked like Tori.

"Hey Tor." I groaned.

"Close…but not it." The voice said.

Cat shifted closer to me and groaned again.

"Who then?" I asked.

"Try again Fuzzy head."

"Lola!" Cat piped up, hopping up and hugging her.

She laughed and hugged her back. "Hi! Tired?"

"More like exhausted." Cat grumbled, as I stood and Lola sat to my left.

"Since when did you have psych?" Cat asked.

"All semester." Lola replied.

"When did you start taking classes here?" I asked.

"This semester." She smiled at me, ruffling my hair.

"Hey! That's my hair." Cat jokingly laughed and smiled.

"Any idea what he's got in store for us?" I asked.

"Syllabus says 'Analyzing animal behaviors'." Lola piped up, holding the blue book that cost more dollar wise ($195) than pages (76). The only reason I paid is because you really do need it to pass the class.

I can see why our prof hasn't retired yet, even though he's like 85. He's raking it in!

"I've got better things to do than listen to him make me want to go home." Cat frowned.

"Agreed." Lola and I replied at the same time.

Cat quickly glanced at both of us and gave a discreet giggle.

"So why are you taking classes here?" Cat asked Lola, as aI sipped my drink again.

"Well, um I don't like waitressing, and I want to act and I liked what the others said about your theater professor…how do you say his name?"

"Sikowitz." Cat and I chanted back at her, causing Cat to nudge me playfully.

"Yeah, and he said he'd let me into the class as long as I took some others courses here at CTC. So here I am."

"Which of his classes? He has more than one." I asked.

_Please be ours, please be ours…_

"It's tomorrow afternoon."

"YES!" Cat yelled, hugging Lola by reaching across me.

"Why so huggy? Is that your class? I mentioned you guys when I applied."

"It is our class."

"It's gonna be awesome!"

Just as Lola opened her mouth to reply—

"Good morning class! Today we'll be talking about animals and their distinct behaviors…"

Buzz Buzz.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw 1 new message.

"_By we, he must be talking about the air. He never lets us talk." –Lola_

"Haha, I know. He yells if we do." I replied, as Cat scooted close to me and laid her head on my shoulder.

Soon Cat's breathing slowed and Lola and I caught up while our professor droned on and on about…well I don't really know.

But I did learn that Lola was engaged to a football player who got drafted by the Dolphins, and left her to date some celebrity that is famous for being famous. She seemed indifferent, but I understand why she would flee back to her High School or in her case prep school friends. She got hosed over.

_Guess class is over. Everyone just got up._

"Good luck waking Cat up. Nice seeing you guys." –Lola

She has a point. Cat hates to be woken up. When she's asleep I usually let her sleep. No point in waking her up just to be mad.

But now she has to get up and go to her Spanish class.

"Cat…baby wake up. You gotta go to class." I gently nudged her. She quickly clung tighter to me.

"It got cancelled. I came for you. Can you take me home?" She mumbled.

"Of course." I smiled. It took her a moment to gather her things, but she basically stayed attached to me as we walked out of the auditorium. I'm not sure how she did it, she seemed to be sleepwalking.

But she did make it. The second she lied in the back seat she was out again.

Buzz Buzz.

"_You busy? I want to start planning Cat's b-day." –Jade_

"Nah, stop by home. Cat's gonna nap. I'm heading home now." I replied, then drove the 15 miles home in silence, just Cat's soft snores and possible ideas for Cat's birthday.

I carried her inside, she didn't even move and tucked her in our bed, leaving the door cracked. Honestly, it was like she was my—

"Boo." Jade smiled at me, as I reached for a water glass.

"Hey." I smiled back, as she hugged me.

"Cat asleep?"

"I carried her in and I doubt she knows she even moved."

"Why is she so tired?" She asked, grabbing a glass as well.

"No idea. I just wake up and she's out of bed. But either I fall back asleep or she's eating. Nothing suspicious."

"Eating?"

"Yep."

"Hmm. Maybe it's just that time."

"That's my best bet. She's done this before too, so I'm not that worried." I admitted, taking a sip.

She smiled and hugged me again. "You guys complete one another, it's so funny."

"Funny?" I asked.

"Yeah. You sound so much older than you actually are. You two know each other better than most people know themselves."

_Really?_

"Ok...So how are you and Beck?"

"Together. Not official but yeah." She smiled and sighed contently. "Together."

"Someone's love drunk."

"Yep. Don't pull me over officer."

"Ma'am have you been kissing tonight?"

"Oh stop it you." She punched my arm lightly. "Any ideas?"

"I want dinner like last time." I said quickly. "The surprise can be breakfast or lunch."

"Hmm. We'll have to put our heads together to figure out something good." She mused."Mind if I call Beck?"

"Why are you asking me? You guys are dating, who cares what I think?" I joked, as she hit me again, but hard.

"Quiet you!"


	24. Designated Discord

"Should we be worried this is the third straight time we've gone to Jet Brew?" Jade asked, standing next to me in line.

"I'm not sure. Either we need to sleep more or wake up better."

"Feels like we should have a third option." She said, as I tried to blink away my heavy eyelids.

The person in front of us moved and the now familiar barista suddenly smirked. "Again?"

"Uh huh." Jade said, as I extended my credit card. It took a moment before she handed it back with a pen to sign the cash away.

"Don't you have a 9?" I asked, handing the pen and receipt back to her.

"Nah, changed it to after Sikowitz." She replied, trying to focus her eyes on me. Their kind of cloudy, which usually means she's on the verge of falling over from exhaustion.

"Here you go, good luck with waking up." The barista smiled, handing me our drinks. Jade quickly snatched her up.

"Ahh, that's it." Jade sighed contentedly, holding the coffee close to her nose.

"Better?"

"Much better." She smiled at me.

Unfortunately the warm didn't last long, with the cold weather still lingering. We both raced to the car and had the heater cranked up to the max while we battled our way back to CTC.

"This is such a waste of gas." Jade said randomly, shivering.

"Eh. We're young. Doing smart stuff is for old people." I replied, keeping my eyes on the road.

"I didn't say it was stupid. I said it was a waste." She bit back at me.

"Implying that it was stupid. I win." I smiled.

"No. No you did not. You're interpreting it wrong."

"How so? What you said implied stupidity." I placidly replied. As opposed to her. She's getting worked up.

"No, I made a neutral statement."

"The word waste doesn't lend itself to neutrality."

"Words don't have a positive or negative connotation OR implication by themselves. It's about context."

"Jade. Who is the best-selling author here?"

…

"You." She replied quietly.

…

"But I'm still right."

"Ugh." I groan, tapping my forehead on the wheel. We're 5 minutes away from CTC max.

"Robbie, did you do most of your editing or did the publisher?"

"I did." I replied. I'm very proud of the fact 95% of the work put into the book was done by me.

"Really now?"

I smell skepticism.

"Yeah, really." I reply, pulling into the same parking spot I left 20 minutes ago.

We both raced back inside. I can proudly say Cat's latte hasn't spilled a drop and is still blistering hot, thanks to the heated cup holders.

I barely had time to see Cat before she was dashing to me, smiling happily.

"Hi! Thank you!" She bounced, pecking my cheek.

"No prob." I smiled at her, as she sipped it and closed her eyes contentedly. "I see you have no response." I smirked at Jade.

"I just seems odd that your publisher would trust you that much." She replied, frowning.

Cat quickly looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"My book. She thinks words are neutral and don't have individual meanings." I answered her.

"But what about love?" She asked, eyes widening. "That's a very positive thing!" She smiled, looking at me.

"I don't mean to bring up a sore topic, but what about after you guys broke up? Love had a very negative connotation then didn't it."

Damn her.

"But that's a situational thing! Love is a positive word!" Cat said defensively, grabbing onto my arm.

I don't think she likes Jade talking about love this negatively. She's not handling this spectacularly. And according to her, she's still "fixing me."

So there's that too. Which would lead to the question, when did I break and get messed up?

That's a good question.

_I don't think either of us knows the answer to that one._

"Debatable. Plus your taking his side because you guys are hitched."

"Hey. Hitched implies marriage. We're not engaged." I snap. She's dredging up memories I really am trying to forget and let fade away into history.

Just a footnote.

"Hey. What's wrong with me being on Robbie's side? If Beck were here you'd side with him!" Cat argued, loud enough for a few people to glance in our direction.

Jade was left gasping at air, then quickly went pale.

Why would she—

_Jade told me about Beck._

_More importantly, she didn't tell Cat!_

"You told her!" Jade glared at me

So?

"What's your point? It's not like she's gonna do anything other than be happy for you." I rolled my eyes.

"But you should have asked if I wanted her to know!"

"You do know how ironic that is right?" I asked her, as Cat cocked her head to me, realizing my implication.

"I—…Robbie! C'mon!"

"I win."

Cat smiled and hugged me.

"It's not about winning or losing! It's about doing the right thing Rob."

"Hello? Haven't I made this argument before?"

"Yeah, and this time everyone is giving you the space you guys want!"

Fair point.

"Well, I'd love to let you guys keep going at it, but I'm going to class." Cat said definitively. "Love you." She smiled up at me.

I kissed her quickly and hugged her. "Ditto sunshine."

Then she bounced off, leaving just Jade and me.

"She's so much happier when you guys are together." Jade mused, turning and starting to walk to class.

I picked up my pace and asked "Is it that noticeable?"

"To me? Yeah, but probably because I knew both of you before you knew each other."

"Wait, when did you meet Cat?"

"It was the dead year we weren't at school together. I forget where I met her but she kind of reminded me of you and made the separation easier."

"What was she like?" I asked excitedly.

She smiled quickly and rolled her eyes. "Basically the Cat you met. Childish, bouncy, happy. Awesome to be around."

"_Hi! Your hair is curly and bouncy! I'm Cat by the way! What's your name!"_

"Sounds like her." I conceded, thinking back to those first few days. Being so afraid of her gigantic circle of intimidating friends. Then they accepted me. Then Cat fell and I was ousted.

Not good times.

Funny, in my mind's eye I see Cat now as her back then. Looks just like her now. Probably should look at the old pictures.

If I can find them. Haven't looked at them since I was at my parents place. A lot has changed.

"Are you even listening to me Rob?" Jade snapped me out of my daze.

"I am now. What'd I miss?"

"Just me talking. Not much."

"Sarcasm is noted." I frowned as we sat down just in time for our prof to start lecturing.

…

…

This guy is the first history professor to make me like it and pay attention long enough to take reliable notes. He should get a raise just for that.

Jade and I talked about his hypnotizing lectures the whole way to Sikowitz's room.

"—I know, it feels like he's completely overlooked today." Jade finished, as we sat next to the others.

"Who's overlooked?" Tori asked.

"Uhh…" Jade blushed quickly and looked away. She's smart, but doesn't really like to show it.

"Leo DiCaprio. He has a new movie out." I covered for her.

"Oh, what's the name?" Cat piped up.

"The Artist I think."

I glanced over at Cat to see her dart for her phone and saw Lola approach behind Tori.

(A/N: Sorry to interrupt, but I need to say something. Whoever reviewed a few chaps back and said I "lampshaded" Tori and Lola, I want to thank you. Why? Every time I think of either of them I think of Cat yelling "LAMPSHADE!" and stuffing one on someone's head and makes me burst out in embarrassing laughter. So thank you mystery reviewer :*)

"Hi!" Lola smiled while taking the seat next to Tori.

"Hey!" Tori smiled back, moving to hug her. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah! What's up?" Beck asked.

"I'm here for class!"

"What?" Andre asked.

"You don't go here." Beck said.

"You don't go anywhere." Tori frowned.

"I go to CTC. I'm here mainly for this class actually." Lola explained.

"That's cool. You said something about acting when we first met you if I remember right." Andre replied, smiling.

"I did. I want to do big things." She smiled.

"Don't we all." Jade monotoned, adding a smile at the end. Everyone laughed.

_I'm glad she was joking. Scared me for a sec._

"Ok everyone!" Sikowitz bounded onto the stage, breaking up everyone's casual conversation. "Today is the day you all have been waiting for, you are getting the scripts and potential parts for—"

He stopped.

And is looking at Lola and Tori.

"Huh? When did there become two Tori's?"

Talk about blowing his mind.

"Since you let me into your class sir." Lola smiled.

"Ms. Martinez correct?" He asked, still looking out of his element.

"Yes sir."

I heard a laugh from the back that was quickly stifled. Tori still turned to give whoever it was her death glare.

_Ouch._

"I'll talk to you guys later. Anyway…"

He then went into detail explaining the play. He seems to have a Renaissance fetish, since it's about the upper crust of Rome. Involving Mark Antony and Caesar. Sweet. I like it. Lots of roles to research. Gives me something to do.

For whatever reason he got a ton of flak from the people from last semester about the play "suiting those who weren't here last semester." Which I hope isn't true. I don't want actual class warfare in this class that we're doing a play about Roman class warfare.

"You think he's favoring us?" Jade asked as Sikowitz called Tori and Lola up just after dismissal.

"Hope not. They'll hate us."

"It'd be hard not to. We did disappear." She replied.

Flash!

Jade and I both turned to see Tori and Lola smiling as Sikowitz looked at his phone.

"Too weird." He said, as we all came to look at it.

Peering over Cat's shoulder, I can confirm they look identical, down to the last freckle. Even the adorable dimple and cheek bones.

"You aren't related?" Sikowitz marveled.

"Nope."

"It's so weird!" Cat smiled.

"I agree. Not normal. But when has anything been normal?" He replied, hugging her.

He has a point.

(A/N: Hey guys. Sorry about the delay. For the twitter people, or as Ariana calls the "tweeple", I have been on this one for the last 3 nights, but haven't got it done. I admit it's not normal of me, but I'd love to see you guys crank out 3800 words in a day like I did previously in the story. I plan on hitting that stride again after I get back from spring break. (which I'm on now.) Speaking of Twitter, I want to thank one ArianaArmy4evr. She's been so so SO supportive and kind and I can't thank you enough. For the "tweeple" the twitter is JFeldmann93 and I love getting to know some of you guys. God I feel like Ariana. Or at least sound like her. That's because I have the best readers on fanfiction. Thanks guys. :))


	25. Working Wishes

Cat POV

"Valentine! How's table five!" My boss, Christina yelled at me. Lovingly of course.

"Five's good! Waiting on seven's food!" I chimed back.

_C'mon…this is taking too long. Seven should have been eating 5 minutes ago. Good thing it's a group of retirees._

Otherwise I'd be getting an earful right now.

I like retirees. They're especially chill and understand that I can't make everything run smoothly. I always do my best, but—

"JUAN!" I yell.

He's cutting into my tip.

I catch the eye of Christina, who quickly pops into step towards me.

"What's the holdup Juan?" She yells.

Juan spouts off rapid Spanish and the sizzling increases over the din.

"I can help out if you want. Apologize for the wait." She offered.

"What'd he say?"

"The meat only cooks when it wants to."

_What?_

"That makes no sense."

"Yeah. You taking up my offer?"

I glance at Allie, the hostess signaling for me.

"Yeah, I got a new one. Be right back." I said, walking away. "Thank you!"

"Ok! No problem!"

"You got a new one on four. He's a cutie too."

Ooh! That always is good!

"Great! Four you say?"

"Yeah. Good luck." She smiled, turning to check her phone.

I sauntered off to table four, picking up silverware and my pink notepad Robbie bought me. It's not the standard one that I'm supposed to wear, but Christina approved it after looking at it.

She thought it was cute.

I smiled softly as I approached table four.

Looks like Allie was right about the boy. He's a brunette with narrow shoulders. But he's got a muscular build. Not too big, just right.

Quite a cutie.

"Hi, I'm Cat, and I'll be—"

"Hey sunshine. What a surprise, bumping into you here…" He joked, a smirk crossing his features

ROBBIE!

"Robbie!" I smile, lowering my voice but smiling wide for him.

"Things going well?"

"It's good. What do you want to drink?"

"I'll have my regular." He smiled.

Dr. Pepper. He loves the taste. That's what he keeps at home. I like Coke, that's my favorite soda.

"Ok! You ready to order or want to wait on that?" I asked, trying not to let my happiness break thru my professional façade.

Façade. Hehe.

Funny word.

"I'll go ahead and wait."

"Ok! Be right back!" I smiled, turning to see Christina flag me down.

"Great timing…" She mumbled as we grabbed seven's food.

"Ok…sorry about the wait." I said quietly, grabbing the fajita plate. "Who had the fajitas?"

A lady in the back put her hand up.

I dashed around and placed it in front of her as Christina started divvying the food.

"Careful, it's very hot." I warned.

"Ok, looks great." She said as I grabbed a steak and placed in front of her husband.

"Anybody need anything else?"

"Can I have hot sauce?" someone with a steak asked.

"Sure." I smiled. "Anything else?"

Nothing.

Great.

"Ok! I'll be right back with your hot sauce." I smiled, grabbing my little stand and tray and walked back to the kitchen.

_Why would you put hot sauce on a steak? I don't eat steak but…EW!_

"She's ruining that steak." Christina commented when we reached the safety of the loud kitchen.

"Agreed. Ironic that's what the holdup was." I said, grabbing a large cup and making Robbie's Dr. Pepper.

"Don't forget to check on five." Christina reminded me, as I grabbed a straw, even though he doesn't like straws.

Company policy. They have some contract that we have to grab one. If they don't want it, we throw it away. Which hurts because I don't like being wasteful.

"Hey. Sorry about the wait." I said quietly, placing Robbie's drink in front of him with straw. I already told him about the straw escapade before, so he discreetly pushed it to the side.

"No prob, I saw you take care of them. I figured you had other stuff to do."

"But still. Not cool."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine Cat." He smiled at me.

He's trying to give me a bit of a break.

_That's what he did last time he ate here while I was working._

He's so sweet.

"Ok. What would you like?" I asked, trying to put some pep into my voice.

I am kind of tired.

"I'll have the number five, medium rare please."

"French fries?"

"Yes please." He smiled.

"Ok." I said, bending down to get his menu.

"It might take a bit. The cook is being difficult today." I whispered.

"Ok. Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"I'll get it here as soon as I can." I promised.

"Take your time."

I reluctantly walked back to table five, where I'm pretty sure I annoyed them just by doing my job. Not my fault, it is my job.

_One #5, medium rare_

_Fries (XL)_

I pinned the order sheet onto the spinner and sent it back to the kitchen.

"What did you think of table four?" Allie smiled at me.

"He's alright. Nice biceps."

Very nice biceps.

"I might go see if he wants my number." She mused.

_No!_

"What? Why is it such a bad idea?"

Did I say that aloud?

_CRAP!_

"Huh? Did I say something?"

"Yeah." Allie looked at me suspiciously. "You yelped 'NO!'. Why?"

"Uhh…"

If I lie she gives him her number.

If I tell the truth, she'll descend on him and gush her compliments.

"That's my boyfriend." I cringe.

"What? Really? That's awesome! Did he come to see you?"

"Yeah."

Time for me to check if he needs a refill. Nice timing.

"That's so sweet!"

"Yeah, I guess." I mumbled, walking away and to his table.

"Refill?" I asked, causing him to look up from his phone, where he had the app pearBook open.

"Sure."

I grabbed his glass, refilled it and walked right back.

I'm really trying to repress my smile. I don't think I'm having much luck though.

"Need anything else?" I asked, as he looked up again.

"Nope. I'm good." He smiled at me.

"Ok. Let me know if you need something."

_Five time._

"Everything going good over here?" I smiled. Enthusiastic nodding and smiles sent me onto table seven.

_Finally…they're ready for the ticket. I hate teenagers. They don't know how to tip. Or be respectful._

I know whenever Robbie and I go out I always make sure he tips at least 15%. Preferably more, because usually you have at least one table per day that shortchanges you.

"Whew." I sigh, getting back to the foyer off of the kitchen.

"Your boyfriend's food is almost ready. I can cover for you if you want to talk for a minute or two." Christina offered, looking over in his general direction.

"That would be really nice. Thanks." I smiled at her.

"That means you cover the 6:30 to 7 rush."

Phoo.

"Can I cover later?" I asked, trying to avoid that rush. It's always torture. The worst of the worst, and everyone picks up an extra table.

Obviously somebody bailed.

"Nope. I need you for the rush."

"Ok, fine…" I said, grabbing his burger and fries.

"Need help?"

"Nope." I said, grabbing a tray along with some ketchup and walked towards table four.

Bum bum bum.

_I get to sit with him while he eats!_

_EEEEEEPPP!_

"Hey, it's hot, be careful." I smiled, placing his food in front of him and sidling into the booth across from him.

"Thanks…you on break?" He asked, grabbing the salt.

He loves salt on his fries. Good thing he works out, it's very unhealthy.

"Kind of…my manager is letting me sit with you." I smiled, stealing one of his fries.

They look delicious,

He smiled briefly before taking a bite.

"Mmm. My compliments to the difficult chef." He said quietly.

"Hehe."

He's hilarious.

"Glad you like it." I smiled, snatching another fry.

"So, things going ok today? Any lousy tippers?"

"Nope…just the usual monotony. You know how it is. What have you been up to?" I asked.

God these fries are great. At this rate I'll have to put in another order for him if I keep eating them.

Good luck in stopping me. If he tries I might bite his finger. Lovingly of course.

"Nothing really. Took Lizzie to tumbling and bumped into Trina and Cannon."

"Oh! How are they?" I asked excitedly. I haven't seen them in forever.

"Great, Cannon still has the blonde hair." He smiled.

"Really? Wow. Wonder where in the family he gets it?"

"Probably the dad." He said flatly, taking another big bite.

Damn.

I totally didn't think of that.

Poor Trina. Hopefully she still doesn't remember the father. Otherwise cute little Cannon might…

I don't want to think about that anymore.

"Anything else?" I asked, diverting the conversation from those dangerous waters.

"Nah, not really. Taking Lizzie home and picking up a lawn mower for Mom and Dad."

"Just your average Saturday." I monotoned, causing him to laugh.

"Just another boring weekend. When do you get off?" He smiled at me.

"After 7 now, Christina bossed me into staying for the dinner rush." I frowned.

"You can't get out of it?"

"Nope."

"Well, that'll reduce the tip."

"Robbie!" I said, half mad.

That's my money he's pocketing! That's not fair!

"What? Your tip will be at home, no skin off your back." He said, taking another bite.

Oh.

"But my tip is supposed to go to everyone."

"And it will be, just not as big as it would have been if I included your share." He said placidly.

"You don't have to, the money is going to you anyway." I admitted.

That was the whole point of working here. I have to pay him back for him covering for me all those times.

"It's more the principle instead of the methodology sweetheart."

"If you say so…" I concede.

I don't want this to blow up, so I'll just bring it up later.

"I say so. Promise." He smiled at me.

He has such a nice, sincere smile. It always makes me want to smile.

"Thanks for eating with me sweetheart. I appreciate it."

There's that smile again.

"No problem…want to do it again after I get off work?" I asked.

"Sounds like a plan. That was good by the way."

"Good. I'm glad." I smiled back.

…

I don't want him to leave…he made my day just by showing up. And then turned my gloomy outlook into a awesome day.

Phoo.

"See you at home?" He asked, moving his plate to the side.

"Yeah, can we practice the lines for rehearsal on Monday later too?" I asked.

"Sure." He said, handing me his credit card and pushing some bills towards me.

The dreaded short tip.

"I'll go take care of this."

I popped up and walked to the back.

Table five is gone. I think my share there went down…oh well.

I know I have a big tip coming to me.

"You guys are cute." Allie smiled, as I ran his credit card and put the bills under the till.

"Thanks." I said, as his ticket ran.

"Here you go." Allie smiled, handing me two or three of the special chocolate mints that we give out to 'special' guests.

"Thanks." I smiled, taking them and heading back to Robbie.

"Sign please." I said, extending the receipt and pen. He took them, and I surreptitiously placed the mints to his left.

"Gift from the hostess?" He asked, not looking up.

"Yep."

"I'll be sure to thank her." He said, handing back the receipt.

I quickly kissed him on the lips and smiled. "Thanks for making my day."

"Any time…you know that. I'll catch you later." He smiled, standing.

I walked him to the door. The only downside was the Christina followed us most of the way.

The second Robbie was out of earshot she snipped "That's a $50 fine. You know the rules."

_No PDA while on duty._

"Fine…it's not like you're gonna make me regret it or anything." I said.

This is kind of payback for when she got busted kissing up her boyfriend and she said flippantly 'I don't regret it'.

"True. It's not like I can take it away or anything. But you just got two new tables." She frowned at me.

_Break's over I guess._

"On in captain."

I picked up five or six menus and started towards my new tables.

Buzz Buzz.

_New text message._

I powered thru the intro to both tables, which have a combo of seven people. Not too bad I guess.

Allie had a cloudy look in her eye as I discreetly checked my phone while waiting for the drinks to fill up.

"_Add $50 to your tip. Fine be damned. I'll kiss you where I want thank you very much :). Love you sunshine.-Robbie"_

Take that Christina.

I have Robbie.

I don't care who your stupid boyfriend is, no WAY he's as amazing as Robbie is.


	26. Chaotic Confusion

I tried to concentrate on the road, as red flashed rapidly to my right.

Cat's totally jamming out as I'm driving back to CTC. Madonna released her new album today at midnight and Cat's been listening to it all day. The only break she's taken from it was class and the nap we just woke up from.

Personally, I'd love to go back to sleep. But tonight's the tryout for the Rome class warfare play. Cannot wait.

I'm trying for an Aristocrat that is two timing his wife with another woman. The only good thing I can tell he does is he supplies a lower class hooker with enough money to get by. I wish I knew more about this guy, because his character could have a lot of minute wrinkles.

This play has a lot of potential, which might be why Sikowitz chose it as this semester's play. Or it could be his obsession with Rome and classical settings.

I'm not sure.

Suddenly Cat pantomimed hitting the drums, apparently at the end of a song.

I laughed, and she quickly looked up and bypassed pink and red and went straight to crimson, clearly embarrassed.

"Was it that bad?" She squeaked, taking one earphone out of her ear.

"Naaah. It actually was good. Just out of the blue." I smiled.

"Is that bad?"

"Easy sunshine. It's fine. It was great." I tried reassuring her.

"Oh."

And now she's just staring at the dashboard, looking adorable.

…

"Whatcha looking at?" I asked, stopping at a light.

"Huh? I was just thinking of something…"

"Can I know what's up?"

"The sky." She monotoned, then giggled.

"Cat…" I smiled.

"I'll ask when we get back home. We need to concentrate on this audition."

"Sure. Everything ok?"

She suddenly had a devious smirk and was showing her dimple.

_Something is up._

I think it's a good thing.

"Yep yep."

More dimple.

"Whatever you say." I placated her.

"Hungry."

I quickly have to stifle a giggle, as she said it completely straight-faced.

"Hungry?" I ask, trying not to burst out laughing.

"Munchy Munchy." She said, then pantomimed chewing something.

"What is with you today? You're so goofy." I smiled, hitting the gas.

"I'm happy. Is it suddenly illegal to be happy? Because if it is I'm going to jail."

Again, straight-faced.

"Are you practicing your role on me? I don't remember a straight sarcasm bit."

"I just want to be funny sometimes. And you usually find my jokes funny. So I made you laugh." She smiled, again at the dash.

I shook my head as I pulled into the deserted parking lot.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Lock me in the basement with a Rubik's cube."

That's…

"Depressing. And no. Definitely not to the best girl in the world."

"Eep."

She quickly hugged me and had my hand in a tight grip as we walked thru the deserted hallways to the Theater. We joined the others and slumped onto the back wall. Cat however rebelled and decided to close her eyes, as opposed to the others, who were reading their demo scripts.

Remember Robbie:

_Player extraordinaire_

_He's supposed to be a asshole_

_Except when he's helping out that one girl._

Can't wait till I can put names to faces and stop saying stuff like 'One girl'

"Lola Martinez." A young teaching assistant asked, poking his head out of the theater.

"Good Luck!" Cat whispered.

Lola smiled and entered the theater.

Buzz Buzz

"_You want to get dinner with us? We are thinking Chinese."-Tori _

I nudged Cat and showed her my phone screen.

Then she grabbed it away from me.

"Hey…" I quietly said, causing some glares at us. Doesn't bug me, I'm proud of having my girlfriend lean against me as the others are sitting or leaning against the wall.

Go ahead. Glare. Shake your head.

I don't care.

Suddenly she handed me my phone back.

In the place of Jade's message, Cat had typed "Sounds great! Where is it?"

Send.

"Hehe."

"Thanks for saving me the effort of typing."

"Anytime. Hehe."

Buzz Buzz.

"_We'll lead you there. And Cat, you have your own phone don't you? Or is that just one more thing you are sharing? :P"-Tori_

I stifle another laugh as Cat snatched my phone again.

Frown.

"Humph." She handed me my phone back and pulled hers out of her back pocket.

"Haha, thanks Tor." I replied, sending it off.

"Robbie Shapiro."

I stood up and Cat waved good luck right before I walked in.

…

…

I don't get this part. I mean, the lines are normal and all…but this guy is so…bad! He has no morals! It's like a woman train, and I am even more lost than I was about where the lower class chick fits in. The one line I got featuring her had me buying a place in my very neighborhood I live in.

WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?

You are already playing with fire by cheating on your wife, and you…

I am completely lost.

At least I'm not actually him. Luckily, I have a wonderful girlfriend that—

"Hey."

"Hey Jade, what's up?" I smiled.

"This play is confusing."

"Agreed. My guy has no moral center."

"Mine's a slut." She monotoned.

"How's that confusing?" I blurted out, before she whacked me in the arm.

"That's not the confusing part jackass. It's that she comes from the richest family in Rome."

"Sounds like Juliet. Or at least the makings of one."

She shrugged, then punched my arm again.

"OW! What up with the violence?" I asked, as a corvette pulled beside my car.

"Hi." Lola smiled.

"You are a chauvinist pig." Jade growled.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, I just said something stupid and she called me out on it. How do you think you did?"

"I think I did ok. I'm a little confused about the whole thing though."

"I think we all are." Cat piped up, coming from seemingly nowhere and hugged me.

"What did you say Robbie?" Lola asked.

"Uhh…nothing." I blurted out, looking away.

I could feel Jade zoom in on me with her evil look, so I fiddled with Cat's hair, causing her to giggle.

"Robbi—"

"He said 'Oh, what's so hard about being a slut?'" Jade snapped.

Tori and Beck were sneaking up behind Lola, but popped up quickly and looked very confused.

"I'm allowed to make one dumb comment a month Jade. Sorry."

"Good. It's not funny." Cat mumbled into my chest.

"What made you say that?" Lola asked me.

"I don't know…I just blurted it out. Wasn't thinking." I admitted, rubbing my neck.

"We knew that." Jade snapped.

"Ok…"Tori jumped in, correctly sensing Jade's anger.

"Chinese?" Cat asked.

"I'll lead the way!" Andre said, darting for his car.

It looked like Jade might follow Cat and I to the suv, but she eventually ditched to get to her car.

"Slam!" went Cat's door.

"Slam!" went my door.

"Why'd you say that?" She snapped.

"I don't know why. I just blurted it out. It was stupid."

"Good. It's not like sex is awesome 100% of the time. That's why prostitution is so stupid."

"I know…"I conceded.

_I think she wants to say something._

"But please watch what you say about sex please. I…"

"Cat, baby—"

"I'm still nervous. You know that. Anyway, can I ask you what I was going to wait with?" She asked, suddenly bouncing.

"Sure. Why now though?" I asked, pulling behind Tori.

"I can't wait any longer. You know my limited paitience."

"I love your limited paitience."

"Hehe." She giggled.

"Ok, whenever you are ready." I said.

…

"Will you marry me?"


	27. Pendulum

"You ready?"

"Play it!" Cat bounced. I clicked the play button as the others watched.

"Every day I'm grindin'  
>I don't even get a weekend<br>Been livin' my life  
>In black and white, no sleeping<br>So tonight I'm gonna flip it  
>Like in a New York minute<br>We're gonna hail a cab  
>And don't look back<br>Once we get in it

Lemme hear you say  
>Ooooh<br>I can't keep it bottled up.  
>X 2<br>Make it pop like pink champagne  
>In the purple rain<br>We gonna paint paint paint the city  
>We're gonna show em off<br>all our pretty, pretty  
>Pink champagne<br>Let 'em know our names.  
>Scream it so loud<br>They'll hear us in LA  
>We're poppin' like pink champagne x 3<p>

Don't need no guest list  
>Everybody's invited<br>I said even if you can't get in  
>We'll dance outside it<br>We're gonna make this bubble  
>Carbonate some trouble<br>When the night gets black  
>Gotta take it back to another level<p>

Lemme hear you say  
>Ooooh<br>I can't keep it bottled up.  
>X 2<br>Make it pop like pink champagne  
>In the purple rain<br>We gonna paint paint paint the city  
>We're gonna show off<br>all our pretty, pretty  
>Pink champagne<br>Let 'em know our names.  
>Scream it so loud<br>They'll hear us in LA  
>We're poppin' like pink champagne!"<p>

"Nice!" Beck said, as he and the others clapped. Jade sprung forward and hugged Cat tightly.

"That sounds amazing!" Tori gushed.

"Thank you! I really like how well it turned out." Cat smiled, hugging Beck and Andre.

"How long did it take to write it?" Andre asked.

"A few hours, the chords were the hardest part."

"The chords?" Jade asked, looking confused.

"Why?" Tori jumped in.

"Well, it took a while for us to get the bubbly sound. For a long time it sounded better suited for a electric guitar."

"Why didn't you keep it sounding like that?" Jade asked again.

She loves songs that have electric guitar. I think this has a personal connection.

"I want it to sound happy, and not have an edge to it. Like a egg."

"Egg?" I asked.

"Eggs don't have edges. They are smooth and gentle. Like babies."

…

"Ok. Whatever you say." Tori placated her, and Cat sat next to me.

I quickly handed her the bowl of popcorn we made and before long, she was munching on it as the others talked amongst themselves.

"Robbie, have you heard from Sikowitz about roles for this new play?" Jade asked me, leaning to steal some of Cat's popcorn.

"Nope…" I said, smirking as Cat frowned at Jade's hand in the popcorn.

"It's not all yours." Jade rolled her eyes with a smile.

"But he popped it for me." She frowned.

"Not just for you. For everyone."

"But—"

"It's just supposed to hold you over until David cooks dinner tonight." I hugged her.

"Has anyone checked their email to see if Sikowitz sent something out?" Tori asked everyone.

"Nope." Andre shook his head.

"I haven't." Beck said.

Cat and Jade continued their stare down over the popcorn.

"I'll check." Andre said, grabbing my pearPad.

Everyone crowded around Andre as he logged onto his email sight.

Until he got to his username and password. Then everyone discreetly looked away. Except for Cat, who covered her face with her hands.

Cat kept her hands like that as Andre started scanning his emails.

"Geez dude, why do you have so many emails?" Tori asked, sounding surprised.

"I'm a busy guy!" He retorted.

"Isn't 149 emails a little excessive though?" Tori rebutted, as Cat still had her face covered.

I quickly scooted over to her and tried prying her hands off her face, but they remained there.

"Cat…" I whispered, causing her hands to start falling.

"There she is." I smiled, as her eyes and cheeks became visible. I quickly kissed her when she fully removed her hands.

"Aww." Jade smiled.

"Now when you guys are done being cute and adorable, we can find out who is playing who." Tori smiled at us.

"And if we actually get names." Beck grumbled.

"Ok…Tori…"

"Yes!" She shouted out, getting to her feet and starting a victory lap.

"I didn't say anything."

"Huh?" Tori looked confused.

"He didn't say anything." Cat said placidly, rubbing my arm.

"Oh. Who am I?"

"You are…Clair." Andre squinted at the screen.

"Who's Clair?" Jade demanded. Beck quickly hugged her, causing everyone else to smile discreetly.

I don't want to be the one that asks 'Are you two together?'

That lucky person might have the pleasure of being beaten up by Jade.

"No idea, says here that character descriptions are at the bottom."

"Then what is she?"

"Maybe we should wait and know who we are? So we don't get confused." I suggested.

"Good idea." Cat smiled, as Tori frowned at me.

"Ok…Jade. You are a woman by the name of Victoria." Andre said.

"That's her name." Jade said blandly, staring at Tori.

"So?" Beck asked.

"I don't want her name."

"Then take it up with Sikowitz." He suggested.

"Ok…Beck. You are a guy named David."

He nodded, smirking slightly. "I'll take the name."

"Robbie…"

"EEP!"

"You are a guy named…no. No way."

"What's my name?" I asked, as everyone leaned forward.

"Michael."

The room exploded, as Beck got to his feet and headed to the kitchen, and Jade snatched the pearPad from Andre to look at it.

Cat meanwhile, clung to me.

"Yep, it's Michael." Jade droned.

"No! You are not going to be Michael!" Cat yelped into my chest.

"I'll ask him to change it." I said, rubbing her shoulders.

"NO! That's my job!" She yelped again.

"Ok…I'll let you talk to him."

"Who are you Andre?" Beck asked.

"I am some guy named Sam. And you are named Zakary."

"Zakary? Isn't very Roman." I said, puzzled.

"Are any of the names very Roman? Victoria…" Jade grumbled again.

"So who am I?" Tori bounced, completely ignoring Jade's grumpy act.

"You are…on the city's chamber for Public Security. But only because you are some guy's wife." Andre read out.

Tori frowned pointedly. "Figures. This is not a good play for women."

"Agreed." Cat sighed.

"Jade, you play…Robbie's…other woman."

"The lower class girl?" She shrieked, looking horrified.

"No." Andre said, suppressing a laugh at her reaction. "That's Cat. You are his…mistress."

"Oh." Tori said, looking shocked.

Jade simply went crimson and looked away.

"I'm the lower class girl?" Cat squeaked.

"Uh huh." Andre replied.

"At least you are nice to me." She said, hugging me.

"Who am I 'married' to?" I asked.

"Some chick named Rose."

"Is that her actual name or stage name?" Beck asked.

"Stage, her real name is Susan."

"How about you?" Cat asked.

"I'm…I am…"

"You're what?" I asked.

"A very huggable person!" Cat cried out.

"I'm married to Tori. And she's cheating on me too. Charming." He deadpanned as Tori tackled him into a hug.

"I would never cheat on you Andre!" She cried, kissing him on the cheek.

"Whoa!" Jade said, surprised.

Whoa indeed.

_Where on earth did that kiss come from?_

"Ok. So I'm Andre's wife, and cheating on him. Cat, you are the lower class girl that Robbie helps out. Robbie is banging Jade behind this Susan chick's back. What about you Beck?" Tori asked, as Cat buried her head into my shoulder and Jade blushed so much she practically went purple.

"I'm…married, but I kill her to hitch up with Lola."

"Classy." I play along, causing Tori to glare at me.

"Who does Lola play?" Cat piped up.

"Uhh…some senator's daughter that fell out of favor with her family."

"Sounds violent." David smirked, causing all of us to jump in the air and yell.

He simply laughed and went back to his cutting board.

"When did you get here?" Tori asked, as Cat hopped up and raced to him.

"I—oof! I got here about 10 minutes ago, right when you saw Cat was Robbie's foil in the play." He smiled, as Cat hugged him tightly.

"What do you think of it?" Jade asked, as we all moved to see what he was cooking.

"Sounds intriguing. I'd like to see it if you don't mind." He said, concentrating on his cutting.

"Sure! That sounds great! I'll ask Sikowitz what the dates are!" Cat bounced.

"Ask me what?" Sikowitz asked, lugging a bag over his shoulder.

Tori and Cat both yelped in excitement and tackled him into a hug.

"Nice to see you too." He smiled.

"I need to talk to you later about my character." Jade said, malice noticeable at the end.

"Ok."

"Me too!" Cat smiled.

"Fine by me. Robbie, this seriously can't be your house." He looked at me.

"It is. It's all mine." I smiled.

"Isn't it awesome!" Cat bounced.

"Yeah, who did you hire to do the mural back there?" He asked.

"Her." I nodded to Cat.

My big surprise back when she moved in here was a huge hit. She loved doing it. Kind of like her musical side, but visual.

"Wow. Good job Cat."

Cat simply hugged him again, causing David to chuckle.

"Ahh. You must be David. Erwin Sikowitz." He extended his hand to David.

"Nice to meet you."

"You really run Chuy's?" He asked.

"I do. It's my baby."

"Well I love the food. Spectacular."

"Glad you like it." David smiled, as Cat started dragging Sikowitz away, into the hallway.

"So what are you making sir?" Andre asked.

"It's a twist on enchilada's and tacos. I thought of it originally a few months back. I tried it, but it was too dry, and I don't want a cheese layer. That's what usually keeps things moist. But I think I have found the right combination."

"Was the flavor good last time?" Jade asked, snatching a green onion.

"Yep, it was stellar. Just not moist enough."

Cat quickly bounced back in. "Hey Stephen."

_Looks like she changed the name._

"Isn't that a Taylor Swift song?" Tori asked.

"Yep! It's good too!" Cat smiled.

Buzz Buzz.

I quickly grabbed phone out of my pocket as Sikowitz came back into the room.

_Nice Ring. –Sikowitz_

(A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you liked this chapter. Unfortunately I have some bad news. I've decided to not do the part 5 and end this story at 35 chapters like all the others. I would do the last part, but the last 2-3 chapters feel oddly foreign to me. Writing them has been kind of a hassle, and somewhere I lost my feel for the story. Which is saying something since I kept it for 3 previous stories. But I am going to keep writing. My next thing will be a iCarly one shot, then a Creddie story. Why iCarly? It seems like Creddie has died, and I would like to take a shot at recreating the magic of pre iSYL. Plus, on a personal note, iCarly has a bitter taste in my mouth after the disasters of my 2 stories on the subject. If anyone cares where I was going to go with the part 5, I can let you know. And one last thing: This won't be my last Cabbie story. This ship is too fun to let go of for me. I have already outlined a new Cabbie story, which is vastly different from this one. Plus I love the Cat and Robbie characters, along with Matt and Ariana to give them some personal spice. This note is waaaay too long. See you next chapter!)


	28. Planning

I love nights like this. Dinner's done, so are the dishes and we don't have any homework. So Cat and I are sitting on the couch, watching some movie that we decided was better than the rest of the stuff airing now.

Personally, I can't wait until 10, when the hockey playoffs start with my Canucks taking on LA. I know, I hear you. I should be supporting the local team.

If it's that important to ya, go talk to Beck. He and Andre are having a watch party.

This movie is ok. Some 70's thing that is good, but I've seen it a lot recently so my attention is split between my girlfriend curled into my side and worrying about Luongo's head exploding.

Last year's loss plus this year's up and down regular season has got me—

"Urr..." Cat said, as she curled even closer to me.

I simply wrapped my arm around her and kissed the top of her hair.

"Urr…urr…"

Cat?

"Hey. You ok?" I said softly, as she placed her head in my chest and tried putting her head thru my chest by turning her head back and forth rapidly.

"I'm going to take that as a no."

"Urr!"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean sweetheart."

She took her head out of my chest and crawled into my lap before putting her head back where it was.

"Robbie…" She said, sounding like a little girl.

"Unless you want to bury your head in my lungs, I'm afraid you can't sweetheart."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, you don't have to ask for permission." I smiled at her, twirling her hair in my hand.

"I'm not sure about this play."

"I'm not either sweetie. It's not something I exactly am down with."

"I wish you could be normal and get married to me."

"Are we still talking about the play?" I asked.

She nodded into my chest.

"Ok good, carry on." I smiled at her. She didn't see, but it was the thought that counts.

"I don't like playing such bad people. I am a good person!"

"I think this play is a way of Sikowitz challenging us. He purposely picked a play we would hate and now we have to make it work."

"But that's mean." She squeaked.

"It's his way of showing his love. He only wants us to be the best we can be."

"Promise?"

"Promise." I hugged her, and she whimpered into my chest again.

"I have more questions Robbie." She looked up at me, eyes bloodshot.

I wiped away the only visible tear. "Ok. Fire away."

"What do I do if people hit on me? It's getting really creepy."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, guys have always come up to me since I'm cute and try to get a one night stand out of me and stuff, but there's this one guy that I think is stalking me Robbie."

I quickly pulled her back into my arms and hugged her tightly. "Sunshine, how long has this been going on?"

"A week or two? I'm not sure."

"Ok. At CTC?"

She nodded into my chest.

"I'll see if security can do anything. If not I'm getting a restraining order." I thought aloud.

"That's what my friend Terra said."

"Who's Terra?" I asked.

Cat's eyes quickly shifted down. "It's a friend of mine that owns a cupcake shop off Sunset Boulevard. She said I should get a gun or Taser but I know you don't want me carrying a weapon." She rambled, then plopping her head back into my chest.

"Not a bad idea, aside from the weapons. When did you meet...?" I trailed off, forgetting her name.

"Terra. And I met her in her shop. She always noticed I got the Red Velvet Cupcakes and my hair and we started talking from there."

"Are they good?"

"What's good?" She replied.

I laughed. "The cupcakes. Are they tasty?"

"Delicious. I need to bring you by sometime. I've mentioned you a lot."

"I hope so. We are getting married at some point."

"But not in the immediate future." Cat said.

That was our bargain. She agreed to marry me, which was the easy part.

The hard part was convincing her that we aren't ready for kids. She has been obsessed with cute babies and legitimately asked me _"Robbie, can we have kids in 2 months?"_

"_Two months? Why two months specifically?"_

"_That's when my birth control wears off."_

"_Cat, sweetheart. Why do you want kids?"_

_She quickly looked horrified. "YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE KIDS?"_

"_Whoa! Cat. I misspoke. Why do you want kids right now?"_

"_I don't want them now. I want to get going in 2 months." She monotoned._

"_Baby. I'm not making myself clear. Why do you want a baby period?" I clarified, hoping she wouldn't run from the room._

"_I know you are my forever boy, and I want to have kids and complete that picture." She smiled at me, coming for a hug._

"_I understand that. I really do. But a baby would push us apart. I would need to get a more normal job. Plus babies are a lot of work. I wouldn't get to enjoy you as much as I want to." I reasoned._

"_You wouldn't do it?" Tears sprung to her eyes._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You don't want to be the daddy of my baby." She appeared to be holding on by her fingertips._

_She looked ready to run out of the room._

"_I do! I would do it if you really want me to Cat, but I just want to have some time that we can be a couple in love."_

"_Like what?"_

"_Go on a cruise, do some traveling, work on more music, maybe even finish things at CTC next year. I just want to be able to know my little boy or girl's mom."_

_Tears flew back into her eyes._

"_But if you want to do it, fine. Let me know when we can go." I placated her._

_She quickly came and tackled me. "Robbbieeeeee…"_

"_Yeah baby?"_

"_I don't mean to sound pushy. I can wait. I just want to have kids with you at some point." She mumbled into my shoulder._

"_Sounds good. I really would like to wait." I massaged her shoulders._

"_Thank you. I understand if you are mad at me."_

"_Why would I be mad? You just told me you want to start a family with me! I was scared I would never get that opportunity."_

"_What do you mean?" She asked. "You're amazing. Why would you ever worry about that?"_

"_It was just when we were fighting and when you were at Methodist. I never did get you out of my heart or my head and if you didn't want me, I wasn't sure how long it would take me to recover."_

"_Robbie…please don't worry about that. I'll always be here for you. I'm never leaving." She whispered, kissing my cheek._

"_Wonderful. I love you." I whispered into her ear, pulling her into my lap._

"_Can we…" She whispered, nudging me upstairs._

"_Right behind you." I smiled._

"Good." I smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" She asked, smirking deviously.

"Nothing. Just remembered something."

"Is it the other night?" She continued to smirk.

"Maybe…" I trailed off, smiling at her.

"I'm glad we have time to do that without worrying." She blushed madly.

"Ok there, easy girl." I joked, pantomiming pulling of a horse's reins.

She quickly hugged me and subtly grinded me.

"Cat…"

"I have one more question. Then I want to go upstairs."

"Ask away." I smiled.

"Have you gotten anyone asking about my music?"

_Crap._

We released Pink Champagne last week. The hope was that some record would show some interest. Because doing her music independently is harder than we thought. It's a lot more time consuming.

"I'm sorry baby…I haven't gotten anything other than emails from fans saying how much they like Pink Champagne."

"Phoo." She curled back to me. "But they do like it?"

"They love it sweetie. They keep on asking for us to get an official pearTunes account so they don't have to steal it off Splashface."

She laughed. "Well, that would get more cash flow in here too."

"It would. But I don't want to do it just for the money." I warned her.

"I know. Can you write up an email to them?"

"I'll ask Andre if he can get me the name of someone I can talk to that is open to selling a spot to us."

"Selling it?" Cat asked.

"Yeah. I doubt those spots are free sweetie."

"You probably are right."

"I wish I wasn't."

"It's ok." She said, kissing me softly.

I smiled at her. "Don't tease me like that. I'm trying to avoid scooping you up now."

"Why? I'm ready when you are."

I quickly popped up, carrying her.

"Let's go then." I said, causing her to laugh.


	29. Tear In Her Dress

"—aspects of Roman culture still survive today. Look around you, the arch, the shower, our government. All of those can be traced back to Rome. Andre, you and the others need to channel the energy from that era…"

_We need to find a way to channel our boredom in a creative way. _

_Well, maybe not boredom. Apathy more like. This play fights against all of our instincts._

"—HEY!"

I jumped into the air, snapped out of my reverie by Sikowitz yelling.

"Hey!" Beck snapped, as several other people in the back started picking themselves up off the floor.

"What was that for?" A brunette snapped as Cat came at me for a hug.

"Pay attention! Jeez, you guys cannot focus." Sikowitz snapped back at us.

"Maybe its because this play is against what we stand for as people!" Cat blasted him.

Several people gasped audibly, and Sikowitz quickly looked shocked.

I quickly grabbed her shoulder and put some pressure in my grip, trying to tell her to calm down.

"That shouldn't inhibit your focus or your ability to act well." Sikowitz said plainly.

"But—"

"No buts Ms. Valentine. Now…" He clapped his hands together. "Quit screwing around and start taking this seriously. Go." On that note, he strode off the podium and towards the corner of the room.

"But you were lecturing sir." Lola said, as we all sat, kind of shocked at how angry Sikowitz sounded. I didn't know he had a temper!

"Do what you kids do best, use your smartphones. Your lack of desire for this project has me burnt out."

"Uhh…" I sputter out, as he pulled a book out of his bag.

"O…k?" Tori said, clearly unsure what to do.

A few moments passed, as a few people took out their phones, while others, including me, Jade, and Lola didn't do anything but look at him.

Buzz Buzz.

_What do we do? And what do I do to stop people from staring at me? They look mad Robbie! -Cat_

Sigh.

"I guess do what he said. And you can't control what anyone else does sweetheart. Just mess around on your phone."

I can see what she's seeing, and feeling. There are a lot of people staring angrily at her, and the sad thing is, I can understand where they are coming from. She's the one that snapped, setting him off and leading to this awkward silence of people looking at their phones.

Buzz Buzz.

_Phoo._

I wish I could be sympathetic, but I don't. Everything that they feel is true. I wish it was some anonymous girl instead of my Cat, but unfortunately not.

"I know sweetheart."

_Well, might as well actually look up Roman society._

I zaplooked 'Roman societal structure', and immediately got immersed in some pretty cool stuff. I didn't know that most of the governors before Caesar weren't in the highest money class. Which is nice. I wish we had more of that in America. Give the people someone to relate to. Maybe that why—

"Ok, class dismissed, see you next week." Sikowitz said, flatly, turning and exiting the room.

Immediately people burst into angry mutters, and the noise level quickly rose.

"Hey tomato girl, can you please keep your mouth shut?" Said one guy.

"Yeah, just be quiet." Another piped up.

"Hey!" Beck said, standing in front of them as Cat quickly gathered her stuff and dashed to me. The insults continued to fly as I escorted Cat to my car.

I heard her try to hold the tears back as I closed my door and reached for my seatbelt.

Sniff.

"It's ok sunshine, we're out of there." I said, trying to reassure her.

No response.

"You ok?" I asked, after pulling onto the main road.

"No." She said, sounding morose.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked.

"I just want to know why they are so mad. It's a fair question." She said, sounding agitated at the end.

"Cat…sweetheart. I think they have accepted that this play won't be what they want it to be, and have moved on."

"Why?"

"Because they are paying good money to listen to what Sikowitz has to say and the assignments he has for us. And you unfortunately, in their mind, wasted their money. We were barely there for 30 minutes." I end bitterly.

"You sound like they agree with them." She said, sounding hurt.

"Cat, I—"

"Don't you 'Cat' me Robbie."

"Hey! They have a good point."

"How so? They did pay for what Sikowitz's class offered and you injected yourself into it."

"But this play is ridiculous and demeaning and horrible! Don't you have a problem with that?" She asked me, holding her arms out.

"I do, but Cat, I think that the time has passed for philosophical stands on this play. I think it's time to buckle down and get to work."

"So your fine with paying me off, while having an affair with another woman while married in this play?" She sounded appalled.

"No, but I have accepted that I can't change it at this stage in the game."

"Fine, but that doesn't explain why they are so mad."

"Simple, again, they are paying for the class and you disrespected Sikowitz to the point he cut class an hour and a half early. It's a waste of everyone's time!" I said, unable to hold my irritation back.

"Oh, I disrespected him you say?" She responded.

"Yes Cat. That's not really debatable at this point."

"Explain."

"Well, he was making a critique of us as a class and you yelled back. That's disrespectful."

"But it was applicable and a valid argument!"

"You know you can't do that though!" I groan as I pull into our driveway.

"But it's a valid argument!"

"CAT!" I yell, beyond annoyed at her constant badgering. "You messed up ok? You really upset Sikowitz. You need to get that you can't just disrespect him like that. Or anyone."

"Are you yelling at me?" She took a step to me as I unlocked the door.

"No, I'm trying to get this point thru your thick head!" I snap.

She closed the door behind me with a bang, and it bounced in the frame.

_She slammed it really hard. Wow._

"OK! That's it! Quit insulting me Robbie Shapiro! I'm only doing what I think is right!"

"But you are wrong! Can't you see that? You're acting like a 12 year old!"

Her already red face quickly went scarlet.

"BYE! I'm out of here! Quit yelling at me Robbie!"

"Fine! Come back when you realize you messed up!" I say acidically as she blew right by me, this time slamming the door so hard it bounced right out of it's frame.

OMG! She's so freaking stubborn it kills me sometimes! I hate it when she's like this! She never ever gives in!

She's never actually gotten worked up to the point of her leaving.

_Wait…_

…

Oh crap.

"_Fine! Come back when you realize you messed up!"_

…

Oh man.

I…I think I messed up worse than her.

I can see it now. She's going to not come off her high horse, then freak about me saying that and worry that I don't love her anymore.

Which of course isn't true. I hate to use the crutch, but all couples have disagreements.

That's all this is, a disagreement.

Right?

Cat POV

…

_I hope she's not busy. I don't want to go to Tori's._

Knock Knock.

I hear footsteps. That's a good sign.

The door opened to Jade with a spatula in her hand.

"Hey there Ca—Why's your mascara ruined? Are you ok? Why are you crying?" She said quickly, moving towards me.

I step to her and can't hold my tears back any longer.

I burst into tears, right there on her front porch.

_I think we have a problem._

(A/N: So…hi. I'm taking the reviews from last chapter as a sign of discontent with how this is going down. And I'm taking all the responsibility for saying I'd be quicker with the chapters, then not updating for a while. That's why nobody reviewed. I understand and I'm sorry about that. I will be faster, but no promises I might not be able to keep. It's finals week after all. I'll try to get another couple up before the end of next week. Hope you liked the chapter.)


	30. Glue Guy

Cat POV

"Hey Cat, you want some tea?" Jade called out, as Beck snuck up behind me and hugged me.

_AAH! _

_Oh wait. It's just Beck._

"Uhh, sure!" I replied back, as Beck kissed my hair.

"You texted him? Beck asked quietly.

"Not yet." I said quietly, looking to the floor.

"Why not? Are you scared?"

I nodded, still looking at the floor.

_He's right. I know that now. I didn't see how mean and rude I was to Sikowitz at the time because the play was all in my face. _

But in typical Jade and Beck fashion, they talked me down and back into my head.

"Why?" Beck asked. "He still loves you."

(Flashback)

"_CAT!" He yelled, getting worked up. "You messed up ok? You really upset Sikowitz. You need to get that you can't just disrespect him like that. Or anyone."_

_BUT THIS PLAY IS HORRIBLE! What are you THINKING Robbie?_

"_Are you yelling at me?" I stepped to him, as he unlocked the door._

"_No, I'm trying to get this point thru your thick head!" He bit at me._

_I threw all of my strength into shutting the door, trying to calm down. It bounced in the frame._

_I know that we need to get back to talking about this, instead of yelling at each other. I've been thru this before. I know what I did wrong._

_I can't let myself get drawn in by the emotion._

"_OK! That's it! Quit insulting me Robbie Shapiro! I'm only doing what I think is right!"_

"_But you are wrong! Can't you see that? You're acting like a 12 year old!"_

_WHAAAAAAAATTTT?_

"_BYE! I'm out of here! Quit yelling at me Robbie!"_

"_Fine! Come back when you realize you messed up!"_

(End Flashback)

I failed. I'm two for two in not keeping my emotions in check. He just wanted to help me.

And I just yelled at him.

Again.

"But I yelled at him again. I didn't listen to him." I mumble to the floor.

The soft clink of tea cups surprised me, but I didn't look up as Beck quietly said "Thanks" and Jade sat next to me.

"You still stuck on this?" Jade asked, holding my tea out to me.

I took it and nodded.

"Why? This is just a bump in the road." She said softly.

"But that's what it looked like last time I didn't keep my emotions in line. And we broke up for a year plus…"

Jade quickly looked uncomfortable and Beck sipped his tea.

"This is great." He said, smiling at Jade.

"You guys are going out right?" I quietly asked, looking back down to the floor.

I'd just like to know for sure instead of just guessing.

"Yeah. We just don't know how to say it to everyone else." Beck said, reaching out and rubbing my knee.

"Yay." I smiled.

_Ow. My face hurts._

Guess my face is sore from crying almost ever since I came here two days ago. I ruined another couple of Jade's pillows for good measure.

_At least she's not mad at me._

Tori and Andre came over yesterday with Fro-Yo. They tried cheering me up and talking me down, but it didn't really get thru until Jade and Beck talked to me over dinner.

"Cat, you seriously can't be worried he doesn't want to date you anymore right?" Beck asked, lifting my head up with two fingers.

"How can I not be?" I croaked out, looking away again. "Look what happened last time!" I grabbed her throw pillow and started bawling into it.

"It's ok sweetie." Beck said over and over as Jade came over and hugged me.

"What's wrong with me?" I banged my head into the pillow.

"Hey." Beck said strongly, grabbing me by my shoulders. "We've gone over this. You are nothing but beautiful. Everyone makes mistakes ok? You gotta remember that."

"Where's Jade?" I asked.

"Dunno, her phone lit up and she left." He shrugged.

"What do you think?"

"Of what?" He replied, looking confused.

"Me and Robbie."

"I think " He started.

"Beck!" Jade hissed, poking her head behind the staircase.

"What? I was about to "

"Come here!"

He quickly got to his feet, and shuffled to her, all the while giving her a look of displeasure.

_What did she want that was so urgent? Hey…Where'd they go?_

SLAM!

_That's the front door._

Did they leave?

"Hello? Jade? Anybody here?" I call out, trying to stay calm.

This isn't my house. I don't like being in foreign places with nobody around me.

"HELLO?" I call out again.

"Hi." A voice behind me said quietly, but sounding chipper.

I whip around and

_Robbie._

With a bouquet of red roses in his hand.

I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out.

"For you." He smiled, pushing them into my hand.

"But you, you…"

"First off, I'm not mad. Let's start there." He smiled.

"How'd you know that " I begin, but he cut me off.

"You really think Jade would let you stay over, crying about a fight you had with me, without telling me and asking what was up?"

_She ratted me out._

How dare her!

"But " I began again, but he cut me off. AGAIN.

"Oh, and also, I refuse to break up with you. Even if you want to. Last time I checked, I was engaged. I'm not giving that up easily you know." He smirked.

_That smirk is so cute._

I can't stop myself from smiling a little bit.

"Robbie…" I say softly, wanting nothing more than for him to scoop me into his arms.

He stepped forward and did just that, placing a chaste kiss behind my ear.

"Hey. I'm sorry for yelling at you. It wasn't that big a deal. I just love you so much and want nothing but the best and I got in my own way. And I'm really sorry about that. But you need to listen a little, ok sunshine? It can't always be your way or the highway."

"That's not what I meant "

"And it doesn't matter. You know why?" He said quietly, moving and putting us nose to nose.

"Why?" I ask.

My breath bounced off his face and back into mine.

"I love you. Ok? It's over. Now it's time to move on and get home so we can prep for a movie night. What do you say?"

_I…_

"What did I do to get you?" I mumble, laying my head onto his collarbone.

"I have no clue. I think about that a lot. Kind of says something, that I don't have a answer yet huh?"

I nod into his collarbone.

"Now, you wanna get home? I think we have some business to attend to."

"What do you mean?" I ask, looking into his eyes.

They're cloudy. And…

Lustful?

"Lets go." He smiled, grabbing me by the hand.

"But what about Jade and Beck?" I ask, getting to my feet. "What about "

"Don't worry about them. Don't worry at all. Let's just get home." He looked back, and I got a better look at his eyes.

I think I know what I missed the first time.

_Love._


	31. Cupcake Cornucopia

"Thank youuuuuuuu." Cat cooed, as I patiently waited at the light.

"Hey, I'm hungry. And you mentioned the place, so why not?" I smiled at her.

She quickly started bouncing again. "You have to be the best boyfriend in the history of boyfriends."

"I try."

"You succeed. Congratulations." She beamed.

"I'd like to thank my fans. All 15 of them." I monotoned.

"Oh my gosh…" She smiled, as I hit the gas.

"You feel better about the play?" I asked.

"Kinda…I wish he hadn't cancelled class today."

"I don't think it had anything to do with you." I tried reassuring her.

"But he hasn't replied to my text. And the play is in 2 weeks!" She said, voice rising rapidly.

I glanced over as I braked at the light. She clearly had a panicked look in her eye.

"Hey. Cat. This isn't on you ok? We'll crush this." I reached over and squeezed her hand.

She looked over to me and her eyes dulled.

"I guess so. I'm still gonna look at my lines more."

"That's my girl." I smiled, turning my turn signal on.

"Can we do some music stuff too?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"And a tattoo?"

"?"

She screamed and brought her knees to her head.

"Did you say tattoo? Did you seriously say a tattoo?"

"What's wrong with a tattoo?" She asked, sounding frightened.

"Cat, you are gorgeous. You have to see the looks you always get. We've talked about this. A tattoo leads to a lot of questions."

"But Robbieee…" She whined.

"At least give me some warning! We went from the play to your music to a tattoo. A tattoo Cat. Kind of random baby." I pulled into the parking lot.

"It won't be a big one! Just a small heart!"

"A small heart?" I asked, turning around as she hopped out of the car.

"Yeah. On my foot."

"Can we continue this after we get cupcakes."

She looked slightly scared but nodded and grabbed my hand.

I ran my thumb over hers as we entered the small shop.

"The apocalypse has come at last. She has dragged him inside." A woman behind the counter smiled at Cat.

"Yep. I threatened to sleep in the other room. And here he is." Cat quipped, smirking at me.

"Smart man. Hi, Terra." She smiled, extending her hand.

_God, it's always so awkward when you shake a woman's hand. With men it's easy. Women, you can't win I swear._

"Robbie." I smiled, shaking her hand gently.

"Nice handshake." She smirked.

"I never know how to shake a woman's hand, I'm sorry."

"You're fine, nobody has a generic reaction to shaking a woman's hand." She smiled at me. "So what's up squishy?"

"Not much, no class today." Cat smiled, then faceplanting herself into my chest and wrapping her arms around me.

"Squishy?" I asked.

"I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy." Cat recited, voice muffled by my chest.

"Verbatim too. Nice job." I complimented her.

"Agreed. Did you add the perky part too?" Terra asked.

"Uh uh. I haven't watched Ellen in a couple of weeks." Cat said, turning her attention to the ice cream store like display with cupcake descriptions.

_Whoa._

I turned to the display, expecting a few generic cupcakes.

Nope. Sure there was the normal cupcakes, with the sprinkles and the frosting. But then you got the pudding.

I kid you not. Pudding.

It's a literal vat. With a seat that you can get dropped into it if you hit a bulls eye.

And then there were amazing signs behind that. All featuring cupcakes and some even with signatures from what I assume to be famous people.

"Thanks for the signature by the way." Terra said, as I looked at the eyeball cornucopia.

"Is it up?" Cat asked, moving towards the wall.

"Yep. Look."

"Where?" Cat bounced, speeding up and looking in a thousand directions at once.

"Not saying. You'll have to look." She smiled. "You want something? I have drinks too." She smiled at me.

"Sure. Two Red Velvets and lemonade please."

"On it captain." She smiled, a twinkle in her eye as she peeked at Cat before going behind the counter.

"Where IS IT?" Cat yelped, as she kept bouncing, looking at the signed pictures.

"Not telling you!" She called out, sounding like she was in the back.

"You guys seem to know each other pretty well." I commented, as Cat kept her vigil.

"Yep. I met her a few months back. I hang with her when you get busy."

"I haven't been busy very much." I said flatly.

"True, but when you have I'm usually with her." Cat countered.

"Where'd you meet her?" I asked.

"I emailed her thru her fan site." Terra surprised me from behind with a lemonade with lemon accompanying two delicious looking red velvet cupcakes. "I'm a huge fan. I said I had a cupcake shop and that her tweets suggested she liked them and invited her in."

"And…"

"She walked inside two hours later." Terra beamed.

Wait...

_(Flashback)_

"_What do you think of the trim instead of the wallpaper and painting the spare bedroo—" I stopped as Cat quickly got up and sprinted from the room._

"_Where are you going?" I called out._

"_CUPCAKES!"_

_Cupcakes?_

_(End flashback)_

"Was that the day we were going over remodel options and you ran away yelling 'CUPCAKES!'?" I asked.

"Uh huh." Cat nodded. "It was gloomy."

"It obviously went—"

"EEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPP! Red Velvet too! Oh my gosh you are the best thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Cat said in a rush, tackling her into a hug.

Terra laughed and hugged her back. "No problem. You're gonna hit it big."

"You are definitely getting a tweet about this. I can't believe it. Oh my gosh." Cat said, sounding dumbfounded and putting her hands on her head.

"I see you like it."

"Where is it?" I asked, grabbing my cupcake.

Cat grabbed my hand and marched my to a picture of Cat I've never seen on a white background with a cupcake along with her signature.

"Looks great." I said, taking a bite.

_Oh my lord._

"Whoa." I said, almost involuntarily.

They both smiled instantly. "I think he likes it." Cat smiled.

"I think mystery guy does!" Terra giggled.

"I do!" I played along, getting everyone to laugh. Cat quickly picked hers up and took a big bite.

"So what were you guys talking about when you pulled up? You sir looked borderline angry."

"He was angry." Cat interjected.

"Was not." I countered. "She wants a tattoo."

"On my foot!"

"You didn't say that when you mentioned it at first! You went play, music, tattoo! Completely out of the blue!"

"It's a heart! How bad can it be! Part of the inspiration is you!" Cat piped up, getting worked up.

"Aww, that's cute." Terra gushed.

I glared. "Not helping."

"Not on your side sir. I think it's adorable."

"Jeez, you guys team up well." I groan.

"Hah! You know it's not bad!"

"I do think it's not a good thing! How big we talkin here?"

"Side of my foot maybe? Maybe a toe? I don't know."

"I said size, not location." I snap.

"Can't be big if it's on your foot." Terra said placidly.

I sighed, turning my glance to the ceiling.

"I don't want it to be big. I just want a reminder of how amazing this ride has been. How important my friends and fans are to this process and to me." Cat rambled.

"Not family?" She asked.

"My family is persona non grata." Cat frowned.

"That's a shame." Terra sighed.

"That's a good word." I teased Cat.

"Uh huh. Thanks Webster."

"Webster?" Terra asked.

"Dictionary." Cat and I said flatly.

"So I can get the tattoo?" Cat asked, bouncing.

…

"Fine. I'm not paying for it though. Or doing any research or hearing you complain 'Oh it hurts Robbie!'"

"YAY!"

"Next topic!" Terra smiled.

I just turned back to the wall of celebrity cupcakes as Cat yelled again.

"YAY!"


	32. Seems Seams

Cat shifted closer to me as we both could feel the class zoom in on her as rehearsal continued.

"Why not the red Sam?" Tori asked, as she, Andre and a guy whose name I don't know acted out a scene.

"Clair, we've been over this. It's a dinner party, and we are supposed to look nice and not stand out."

"We won't stand out if the Senator brings that random redhead again." Tori said, flipping her hair back.

"True, but the color of the dress and her hair might make it seem like you two know one another." Andre said, as "Clair" clearly was trying his patience.

"We don't! I've made that very clear to everyone. I wouldn't associate with such a…"

"Be careful dear. You don't want to get us into trouble." Andre said, putting his hand on Clair's shoulder.

"Why would Stephen associate with her? He's allegedly got a new woman in his bed."

"Hmm." Andre said, clearly not interested.

"Don't you care Sam? It's so fascinating! I don't know how he would be married to Rose and associating with that slut."

_HEY! I told Sikowitz to change that part! Cat's super sensitive since her…run in a few months ago!_

I whip around to see Sikowitz looking on like nothing is wrong.

Cat's hand pulling my body back towards the stage is the only reason I didn't stare him down. I'm FURIOUS. I told him multiple times to change it and he knows the hell Cat has had to endure over the last few years.

And he still didn't change the wording.

Cat finished turning my body over to face the stage and grabbed my hand, holding it softly.

_I can feel her hand shaking. She can say it isn't all she wants, but Sikowitz is getting an earful._

"—guess he isn't happy with her." Andre finished, as Sikowitz tugged on the curtains, signaling the next scene, which Cat and I are the only characters in. That's something unique about this play. Usually it's 2 people per scene. Really tests your concentration.

Cat and I made our way up there as Tori and Andre came down and the crew changed the set, from a walk-in closet to a front door, atrium and living room.

I glanced at Sikowitz as we walked upon the stage. His expression was neutral, and before I knew it, Cat was pulling my hand as she stepped up onto the stage.

The scene is supposed to start as me fiddling in my living room and Cat knocks at my door.

What comes next?

You'll just have to find out.

"And…ACTION!" Sikowitz called out.

If people could have jumped at the loudness of his voice, they would have. But since we're used to it, we're like statues.

"Knock Knock."

I made my way to the door, peeked out the little window and quickly opened the door.

"Hello Stephen. Package for you." Cat smiled, sounding very professional. Ironically she's doing that in the play because people have been asking around about her and instead of her being just a friend, she's a delivery girl, who's basically my personal postgirl.

"Great, please, come in." I replied, ushering her inside with my arm.

She did that, and I shut the door quietly.

"How are you girl?" I asked, passing her and heading to the living room.

"I'm fine…tired. The neighbors got drunk again and tried to look into my bedroom."

"Didn't you tell the authorities about this? That's the third time this month!" I replied hotly, getting worked up.

"No, they just tried to get dates with me. The Roman authorities are useless Stephen, you should know that." Cat looked at me disdainfully.

(A/N: I never named Cat's character. My bad. Her character's name is Destiny. Yeah…I'm creative ;))

"Destiny, maybe you should hire a bodyguard." I suggested.

"Stephen, you know who would end up paying for that. I live in the chalk district. We have almost no extra money."

"You. You almost have no extra money. That's how we reconnected sweetheart."

Cat looked down and went a light pink. "Thank you again, you've really helped me out."

"Of course. I saw a need and filled it, I wasn't going to let some sleazeball landlord rip you off and evict you."

"Thanks…"

I began to open my mouth to speak, but I had an idea.

"Hey…"

"What? I haven't asked you how you are yet?" Cat piped up.

"Where do you work again?" I asked.

"In the lunch stalls by the docks. I cook and people buy my food. You stopped by once."

"That's right. It was good, the sandwich. Thanks again."

Cat went pink again.

"Well, how's this for an idea. I take care of your harassing neighbor problem forever by buying a house a few blocks from here and "rent" it out to you. How does that sound?"

Her face lit up, but quickly fell.

"That would be awesome, but…I can't ask you to do that much for me Stephen. I didn't mean to worry you. I promise I'm truly fine. I can handle it."

"It isn't a problem Destiny." I said, stepping towards her. "I just want to know when I go to sleep that you are safe and worry free. That's all I care about."

"But…you should be thinking about your wife and Augustus and how you will make their lives better instead of me. Stephen…"

"Hey, I'm buying that place this week."

She gave a resigned look, and came to hug me. "Thank you. It was nice talking to you."

I glanced to my right and saw Jade walking up the steps.

_Exit one woman, enter another. And neither are my wife._

"You too Des. I'll mail you when I buy the place."

She reached up and tenderly kissed my cheek. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Bye Destiny." I said. She waved as she exited the front door.

Not more than 10 seconds later I heard the back door close.

"Heyyy." Jade said seductively, dress mid thigh and rising rapidly.

"Hey yourself."

"Mind if we talk upstairs?"

"Sure, I'm right behind you."

"Sure you are." She smirked.

"That's a wrap!" Sikowitz yelled out, as Jade quickly pulled her dress down and sat on the stairs.I sat next to her.

"I hate this part. I feel like a actual slut."

"You're fine"

"—pleased with your performance today. Much better than last week. I think you all will be fine for next Friday when we open. Email me if you have any further questions. On that note…" Sikowitz trailed off, moving to his bag and the class rose.

Cat quickly dove to Sikowitz's side.

"I thought you told him to change the slut line." Jade whispered in my ear quietly, startling me and causing me to jump away from her.

"I did. He didn't listen apparently." I replied.

She frowned and I turned back to Cat and Sikowitz.

Cat was talking to him animatedly, and even at one point crossed her arms, which is a danger sign from her. It's one of her 'I'm really getting mad here, fix this. NOW!' faces.

When I see it I pinch her nose and run away. She usually giggles and chases after me, forgetting what she was mad about in the first place.

Thankfully, Sikowitz apparently gave in because after a moment, Cat quickly smiled, said something and then Sikowitz walked away.

"Must have gone well." Jade guessed as Cat grabbed her purse and skipped to me.

"Oh, I got you this by the way." Jade said, handing me my backpack.

"Hey, that's where it was." Cat pouted.

"Sorry, you guys were on stage. I just wanted to speed things up." Jade said, slightly defensively.

"Thanks Cat, I appreciate the thought." I smiled.

"What did he say?" Beck asked, surprising Cat from behind.

"Nothing, just a line change."

"The one he didn't change?" Beck guessed.

"How'd you know? I only told Robbie and Jade." Cat asked.

"Well, I know you hate being called a…you know…and Jade's my girlfriend. She also told me, even though I already knew it was probably being changed."

Cat simply frowned.

"Hey, let's get home, I have a cool idea on where to get dinner tonight." I told Cat.

She quickly perked up, grabbing my hand and starting towards the door.

"C'MON!"

"My god Robbie, you're getting domesticated! Soon you'll want kids and cook every night!" Jade cat called, and Beck snorted some laughter.

"I'm not cooking! This doesn't count!" Cat replied, flying thru the door and towards the parking lot.

I couldn't hold back my smile as I exited with a wave.

Luckily for me, both of them smiled widely too and Jade's eyes twinkled.

I think she might cry when they're going home.

Just another example of how we're almost grown up.

_Almost._ I thought, as Cat bouncing by the car door met eyes.


	33. Redundant Reaction

Reason #1 I love the end of the semester: Getting to sleep in while professors slowly realize that not even they want to be in class and decide to assign work and let us stay at home.

Reason #2: I get to wake up late.

Well, for me it's late. This morning I woke up at 9:45. I would be doing something, but right now I'm watching some random show on TV because I feel TERRIBLE. Not completely miserable, but bad enough to want to stay in bed all day.

Cat doesn't know yet. I got out of the shower about a half hour ago and she left a note in the kitchen saying she went to go TV shopping since the projector in the theater room died in the middle of 'The Vow'. Which surprised both of us because Tori said it was "so so sad" and that she cried the whole time and awhile afterward. And neither of us cried. Cat simply snuggled me and hugged me the whole time.

It is brutal, but I would definitely say go see it. Pretty good considering the sad premise of the whole thing.

Sorry, I got off topic. The TV died last Friday and Cat is shopping for a new one while I try to will myself to make soup and pick out a marathon to watch before Cat gets home.

I have no idea how she will react once I tell her I'm sick. She's never seen me sick. I've seen her sick, and she isn't very fun. No hugging on touching or anything. I slept in the guest room and took care of her and everything. She snapped at me a couple of times, but later she said that was only because her head hurt, and that she was sorry.

If I had to bet…she'll probably be like Mom. She might even call my mom to see what I like when I'm sick. Cat always does sweet stuff when I feel fine. Knowing her, she'll do everything in her power to get me better.

I just hope she doesn't set her 'No affection' rule on me. I'll take the kisses and hugs, thank you very much.

_Ok…time to pick out soup._

…

WHOA!

I stumble back to bed and lie right back down.

_Great. I'm getting worse. Now I feel dizzy._

I'm just going to stay right here until Cat comes back.

_Good gravy I feel terrible._

I gingerly try to relax and concentrate on TV, but I end up just closing my eyes and hoping Cat comes soon.

_What time is it I wonder, and where's my phone…_

Just as I start to turn for my phone, I hear—

"Clink…clink. Plop plop plop…"

_Cat's here._

_YAY!_

"Robbie?" She called out, sounding like she was in the living room. "I think you're here…you left the OJ out!"

Crap. My one escapade before lying here. I've barely even drunk my glass, which I brought in here.

I turn over, and ignore the world while it does a complete 180. I spot my phone and snatch it up before returning to my position, looking towards the TV.

"_I'm in our room. Sorry about the OJ." –Robbie_

I hear the sound of the refrigerator open right before the 'Ding Ding!' of her phone, saying she has a new message.

"Plop plop plop. Slam!"

_Fridge is closed._

"Hey Robbie…how are you? Why'd you text me?" Cat asked softly, walking into the room and smiling at me once she saw me.

"I feel terrible baby. I really didn't want to call out." I explained, voice coming out weaker than I expected.

Her face quickly fell and she darted to my side. "It's ok…" She said softly, grabbing my hand. "What hurts?"

"Dizzy, stuffed up…that's really it. Just no energy." I said, as she ran her thumb over my hand.

"Oh. You stay here, I'm getting the thermometer." She said, smiling softly then pacing quickly to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

Neither of us have really been in there since she moved in. Last time she was sick, it was our senior year at Hollywood Arts. We don't really get sick much, which I guess is good.

_Yay! She got the one touch!_

"Hold still." She dictated as she ran it over my head quickly.

Beep.

"99.4. Not too high. Hmph." She frowned, stalking back to the bathroom, not looking pleased. "It's just your head?" She called back to me. "Not stomach?"

"Uh uh. Just head." I called back.

_Wait…_

"And throat!" I said, just as she entered the room. She smirked, shook her head and turned back to the closet.

"What am I going to do with you?" She asked, coming back with a decongestant and tea bags.

"Hang me over the kitchen island? And why tea sweetie?" I asked.

"Sore throat. At least that's what it sounds like to me. Hang on, I'll make some." She smiled, looking ready to cry while heading out of the room.

"Ok…why are you about to cry sweetie?" I asked.

She stopped in the doorframe and crawled back onto the bed. "I…it hurts me to see you feeling bad. I just want my Robbie back." She sounded morose.

"I'm here…I just feel bad." I replied, as Cat plopped next to me, still looking on the verge of tears.

"But you aren't really you. This is you when you don't feel good. You want some food?"

"I'm not really hungry sweetie."

"Ok. Mind if I call your mom? She might know what is wrong."

"Sure."

"Ok. Love you." She said softly, kissing my cheek before getting up and heading out of the room.

I grabbed my phone and messaged back _"Love you too. Sorry I'm no fun today."_

I heard the sound of her phone going off and what must be the water pot at the same time.

"You're fine Robbie!" She called back, sounding like she was stifling a smile.

_Good lord, daytime TV stinks. Ugh. _

Quickly, Cat came back, holding a tea cup and balancing her phone between her head and ear.

"—just stuffed up, sore throat and a little headache…no, he hasn't mentioned ear pain." Cat said, presenting the tea to me and giving me a odd look.

"Ok…no we don't have that…ok! Sure. You know where we are. Ok…bye!" Cat replied, clicking off the call and putting it on the bedside table.

"Your mom has some medicine that might help. Apparently you caught something that's been going around. She said your dad felt like this last week, and that what she's bringing helped him."

"Sounds good. But now what?" I asked, reaching for my tea.

"Well, I'm going to lay right here and watch TV with you until she gets here."

"Sounds even better." I smiled, as she followed thru and turned the volume up a little while making herself comfy on me.

…

…

"All this stuff is boring." She frowned, changing the channel again.

"Uh huh. Right with ya sunshine."

"Movie?"

"Nah…do we have anything recorded?"

"I don't think so…I haven't been watching much TV. Ooh! Definitely, Maybe!"

She hurriedly clicked it on, and I quickly got immersed in it. This is one of my favorite movies, Romantic Comedy or not.

I didn't even notice when my mom walked in, 20 or so minutes in, carrying her purse. Cat pausing it and getting up caused me to notice.

"Hey mom." I smiled.

"Hey sweetheart…sorry you feel bad." Mom said, hugging Cat and moving to hug me, with a slight smile on her face.

"I'm ok. I'll be fine." I replied, as Cat dug in Mom's purse and came up with a yellow box.

"This it?" Cat asked.

"That's it." She replied. "You probably aren't hungry are you?"

I shook my head as Cat opened the pill bottle and got three yellow pills out.

"I didn't think so." Mom shook her head ruefully.

"What does he usually like when he starts to eat?" Cat asked as she went to the kitchen, presumably to get water for the pills.

"Well, he usually likes a baked potato." Mom smiled at me, ruffling my hair as an extra gesture.

"That actually sounds good. Not now, but later."

Cat quickly poked her head back inside. "Did I hear you right? A baked potato?" She asked, looking very confused.

"Uh huh." Mom smiled.

Cat finished entering the room and handed me the pills and water.

"You look sad, you ok sweetheart?" Mom asked Cat, as Cat frowned at me.

"I'm fine, just wish Robbie felt better." Cat sighed, as I downed pill number one.

"Wait, this is the first time you've seen him sick isn't it? He's usually really healthy."

Cat nodded.

Pill two is down.

"Oh, don't worry sweetheart. He always bounces back quickly." Mom said reassuringly, hugging Cat as a extra measure.

"Thanks Mrs. Shapiro." Cat smiled at her as I put the glass on the bedside table closest to me.

"Of course sweetheart. You're practically family after all. Just make sure his temp stays down, the doctor said—…" She stopped, looking at Cat's arm.

"…the doctor said…"

"What did the doctor say?" Cat asked, as mom grabbed Cat's hand and looked at—

_Oh crap._

"OH MY GOSH!AAHHH!" Mom yelped, hugging Cat quickly as I cringed at her voice.

_She saw the ring._

"What?" Cat asked, looking surprised.

"Your ring! You're getting MARRIED!"

"Oh, umm yeah…" Cat blushed quickly, stepping away as Mom dove to me and hugged me.

"Easy mom, don't want you getting sick too. And it's not gonna be anytime soon I don't think. Maybe a year or so."

"Ok…but it is happening?" She asked, grabbing Cat's arm again. However, Cat beat her to the punch and handed her the ring.

"It is."

"Oh wow…it's gorgeous! And great! Can I tell your father?"

"Go ahead, just keep it quiet for right now." I said, as I noticed Cat smiling from ear to ear almost.

"Where'd you get it?"

"I…I don't remember." I said quietly.

I did buy it…three years ago almost. Cat and I were still at HA.

_Man, Hollywood Arts has come up a lot today I swear!_

"Robbie…" Mom frowned.

"Sorry, Cat doesn't care, do you sunshine?"

Cat shook her head.

_That's my girl._

"That doesn't matter anyway…you must have spent a pretty penny. This is beautiful!" Mom continued to gush.

"Uh huh. 3 grand."

"Shut up." Mom looked shocked.

"Yeah…and now I remember, I bought it at one of those specialty diamond stores down in the city."

"That doesn't matter. It's the thought and meaning that count." Cat said, frowning at me slightly.

_I don't think she wanted that part mentioned._

"True…here, didn't mean to snatch it from you. My bad." Mom handed it back to Cat.

"No problem, I understand why!" Cat smiled softly. "What did the doctor say?"

"Doctor…oh yeah! Just check his temp often, if it gets near 101, call a doctor, I can get the name of the one I took your father too if you want."

"Sounds good." Cat said, moving to get the thermometer.

"Uh huh…Cat, can I see you before I go really quickly?" Mom asked, as Cat grabbed the thermometer.

"Sure!" Cat replied, smiling.

"I'll see you later on today, your father is going to want to come I guarantee it!" Mom smiled, kissing my cheek.

"Ok, bye mom. Love you!" I smiled, as she and Cat went out.

…

_Hope mom isn't worried about anything. Probably about our surprise._

…

"Hey, I'm back, let's check that temp." Cat said briskly, grabbing the thermometer.

"What did Mom want?" I asked, keeping still.

"Just how happy she was about the ring stuff, that we looked cute today, and asked if I was pregnant actually."

_Oh god._

"Mom…" I groan. "Sorry baby."

"It's ok." She giggled. "It's a good thing. She said I was gonna be a good mom. And she loved how I was treating you." She smiled at me. "99.7."

"No real change."

"But going up." She sighed, tossing it aside and grabbing the remote.

"She's right…you will be an awesome mom." I smiled at her.

"And you'll be a cool dad, I know it."

"Thanks…movie?"

"Sure, let me know when you want to eat. And this is fun."

"Fun? Not for me!" I protested, even though I think I know what she means.

"Oh Robbie…I meant that snuggling with you and watching a movie is fun. I wanna do it more. Not the sick part."

"Ok. I guess."

"Yay." She smiled, kissing me on the cheek for effect.

(A/N: Hi everyone! Hope you liked this chapter. School ended last week, and this story should be done in the next week or two. I would write more today…but I feel like Robbie today. I don't wanna do anymore other than watch TV. By the way, I have changed course for my next story, thanks to iCarly's 'iOpen A Restaurant' , "Is it too late for you to love me?' and…someone special. But the iCarly part really fast. I was truly planning on the Creddie story…until Freddie said that and…I think we all know where this will end up. And part of the fun in the Creddie story was the lack of interest to that point since iOMG. With that now gone…I'm going to attack another Cabbie story, titled tentatively right now 'Cabbie 2.0'. It's gonna be VERY different from this 4 part story, and not as long winded lol. I do have to quickly thank Miss or Ms. Terra, or on twitter ArianaArmy4evr. She is worth a follow, I forget her fanfiction handle, but I'm betting she'll review after this chapter…so keep your eyes open. I'll catch you guys later, I'm gonna collapse and watch old Zoey 101 episodes. Peace.)


	34. Final Preparations

"Robbie, are you sure you'll be ready by Friday?" Tori asked as Cat rubbed my back and looked completely miserable.

"Yeah. I sound fine. I can tough it out." I said, trying to mask my annoyance at everyone's unnecessary worrying about me.

"But you've been sick for a week now! The doc must have misdiagnosed you, this should have run its course by now." Jade frowned.

She was there when the doc diagnosed a combo of the cold and Hay Fever. Weird, since I don't have bad allergies usually.

"Guys, don't worry. I'll be fine in two days."

"You better." Beck said ominously. I simply glared at him.

_I wish he'd back off. Not helping._

"Just get better ok man? And let us know if we can help you guys with anything ok?" Andre said, addressing Cat at the end.

"Kay Kay."

"Thanks guys." I smiled.

"See you guys later." Jade smiled at me as the others started to the parking lot. "I'll come by later, I've got to drop Beck at home. His car is biting him in the butt right now."

Cat giggled as I smiled at her. "Ironic. He's the car guy."

"Oh yeah, and it's on his last nerve, He can't figure out the problem, and is too masochistic to go to a mechanic."

Beck poked his head in. "Jade. I can fix it."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Let's get you home silly."

"Bye!" Cat called out, as they both waved.

Once they disappeared, I let Cat lead the way to the car and I relaxed. I'm wiped out. I just wanna collapse in bed.

"Still dizzy Robbie?" Cat asked softly as we reached the sunlight, slightly obscured by clouds.

"Yeah."

"You're tough. I have to give you that one."

"Not really, I had to come today sweetie. I can't get everyone all worried about me not making it."

"True. But still, you made it thru and looked fine, despite feeling positively awful." She said, sounding like she's smiling.

I don't know, my eyes are closed. Cat's guiding me to the car with her arm around my waist, I'm simply moving my feet in whatever direction Cat is guiding me.

"That was the goal. Now I just would like to get home."

"On it. We're at the car." Cat said, as she opened the door. I gingerly stepped into the passenger seat and finally laid my head on the headrest.

Since Cat's driving, we took the Scion to save gas, since her SUV is a gas guzzler. This is kind of convenient, since we are planning on selling it and using it will make everything work better.

A moment later Cat softly shut the door and started the engine, then backed up and soon was on the highway.

"You're lying down when we get home. Understood?" Cat said, using her "stern" voice. She tries to take control, but she's too worried about me and loves me too much, so it just has a little edge to it.

"That's what I was going to do." I smiled at her.

"Your mom just texted me, she brought flowers and your father wants to see you. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, just make sure they know I am still feeling bad."

"Kay. Want some music?"

"Sure, not loud though. Just some background noise."

A moment later a song I didn't recognize came on. Cat apparently knew it, because she started humming along with it immediately.

I don't know how long it took for Cat to get home, two songs and a few commercials but Cat just pulled in and stopped, judging by she just hit the brakes.

"Robbie?" She asked quietly. "You awake?"

"Yep. We here?"

"Uh huh. The house is to your right."

I gingerly got out and started to the door. Cat raced to catch up and beat me to the door.

"Hey!" I heard my mom call out.

"Hey Mrs. Shapiro, Robbie's coming." Cat said.

I heard Mom and Dad move before I saw them.

"Hey." I smiled at the sight of my parents, stepping inside.

"Hey man. Still feel bad I see." Dad smiled, as I walked past both of my parents.

"yeah, if you wanna talk, I'm gonna do it lying down."

I could almost feel Mom frown behind my back as I made my way to bed and plopped down.

Cat quickly darted to one side and ducked down. When she came up she was crimson and holding a bra.

"Sorry, I was lazy this morning." She mumbled, dashing to the hamper in the bathroom atrium.

"No prob, you guys have had a tiring week." Mom brushed Cat's worry off with a smile.

"Not really. I've been sick and Cat's taken care of me." I replied.

"Sweetie, being sick takes more out of everyone than a normal week does." Mom said.

I rolled over to face Cat, who was fiddling with the covers. "Thanks for taking care of me sunshine. Appreciate it."

"Of course, that's why I'm here." Cat smiled back, taking my hand and rubbing her thumb over it.

"Well, that's not the _only_ reason…" Dad quipped.

Immediately, Cat went crimson, and Mom yelped and swatted at him as I groaned "Dad…"

"—our baby boy does NOT feel well and you're here making inappropriate jokes! That's not what he needs!" Mom tore into Dad.

Cat quickly giggled. "Baby boy? Aww, that's cute."

"You'll understand someday sweetheart. You'll call your youngest son your baby boy even when he's 50."

"I'm your only baby boy mom." I smiled, trying to get her to smile and loosen up. She clearly doesn't like me feeling bad this long and is displaying a uncharacteristic short temper.

"You got that straight." She rushed forward and kissing my forehead. As Cat smiled and mom stepped away, the front door shut.

"CAT? You here?"

"In Robbie's room!" She replied. A few seconds later Jade walked it.

"Hey! Guess we're having a little get together!" Jade smiled as my dad moved to hug her and Mom smiled happily.

"Yep. How are you Jadelynn?" (A/N: I'm gonna miss calling Jade by this. Might work it into the next story. I've gotten attached to my little nickname for her.)

"I'm fine. Just annoyed _someone_ apparently was faking how good he was feeling!" Jade said, finishing with annoyance in her voice.

Before either of my parents or Cat can get in a word edgewise, I pipe up "I told you I wasn't feeling good!"

"But then why are you lying down?"" She snapped.

"Because, in making my appearance to the world, I wore myself out."

Jade attempted to retort, then apparently thought of something and shut her mouth without saying anything.

"How _did_ class go today?" Mom asked.

"Fine. Play starts Friday." I replied.

"Great, we'll be there!" Dad smiled.

"You sure you'll be ready?" Jade frowned at me.

"Yes Jade. If I don't feel 100% I'll load up on meds, get the adrenaline flowing and go knock it out."

"That's my boy. Not letting the dumb flu keep you down."

"The doctor said Cold and Hay Fever." Mom replied to him.

"You thirsty?" Cat asked me. I nodded and she dashed off.

"Well, whatever it is, let me know if I can do anything ok? And don't be all macho and tough it out too long. If you still feel bad Sunday, I'm taking you to the hospital." Jade said sternly.

"I'm fine with that. Sunday will be after the play runs its course correct?" Dad asked.

Cat answered by nodding as she brought in some cold water and ice.

"Thanks." I smiled at her. She simply kissed my forehead and looked at my parents, who both looked like their hearts went to mush.

"You guys are too perfect. I'm so glad you're getting married." Mom threw out, softly smiling.

Suddenly Jade jumped up and yelped "WHAT? Married?"

"You didn't tell her?" Dad asked, as Cat and I shook our heads

Next thing I knew, Jade had tackled me into a hug and was crying into my shoulder.

_Just like last time._

(A/N: Wow. One more chapter to this story. I can't believe it. Started it in Houston but wrote most of it in Seattle last summer. Now here we are, one year later, and I can still remember slaving over chapter 16 of Stuck in my uncle's basement. Amazing how things change. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. And even if you didn't, love you anyway :). Can't wait to start on my next story. I'll let you guys know the title of Cabbie 2.0 after Ch. 35.)


	35. The Story Of Us

The sounds of the tech crew hammering one of the balconies sets the tone of tonight. My mind seemingly won't allow me to concentrate. The magazine I brought to read in hair and makeup has gone basically untouched, and I wish I could find some way to occupy myself.

Everyone else is in their normal routines. Cat's chasing Sikowitz about the tone she's supposed to use in the scenes with me, since Beck said it could use some work. Beck's sounds asleep, using two director's chairs and a pillow I brought. Jade's furious because her scissor dartboard game is not going well. She's hit the wall four times and people have slowly avoided her area. She's never been good at hiding her anger.

Tori's got her head in her purse, looking for a locket or bracelet or something. Andre, as always is jamming in the far corner of the backstage area. Dancing right now, but soon he'll start to get in the zone and pantomime his lines.

In all this chaos, with the tech crew still hammering away, my eyes follow Cat around. I can't look away. She looks magnificent, even though she looks like a working class Roman woman that's never had a decent meal to save her life.

It's amazing to me how far we have come, so fast. It was as recent as three years ago, that I was tortured by Cat and her bouncy personality, completely oblivious to my massive and all-consuming crush.

That wasn't a fun time. Wanting her. Desiring her. Being completely unable to think of anything but how I wanted her to be mine and only mine. Looking back on it, it's no wonder Jade and the others picked up on it. That was probably my worst moments, at least as a person. Being so manipulative just to spend some time with her.

I'll never forget her horrible boyfriend, Michael, if only for how he attempted to force sex onto her, and how Andre, Beck and I beat his face in once we put the pieces together.

Cat was so scared that night. She cried and cried and apologized even though she was the victim. Nobody else was mad at her, only herself. Anyone in that position would be in survival mode, too scared to think about it changing. Which is why I'm glad we beat Michael up and freed her up to do as she pleased.

"Robbie, does this sound better?" Cat asked, right in front of me, snapping me out of my reverie. She proceeded to belt out a few lines, sounding much more middle class and beat down.

"Sounds amazing." I smiled.

"Yay! Thanks Robbie, you're the best!" She beamed, kissing me briefly before racing off somewhere.

Speaking of things I'll never forget. Our first kisses.

I wanna say it was after Colby. Funny how her boyfriend's names always started with C it seemed like. Anyway, she had a fling with him, no big deal, but she was still recovering from the Michael thing. I didn't recognize that the relationship probably wasn't serious, and since I was blinded by my crush, yelled at her since she didn't tell me. She didn't need to, not my business. She kind of knew how I felt, but she wasn't reciprocating.

I was at her house, driving carefully since my huge car accident, with Jade's warning about Cat's emotional state bouncing in my head. I remember the meeting didn't go at all how I was expecting.

"_I smiled and shook my head. "Hey, when did you get that SUV?"_

_Apparently, that was the wrong thing to ask because her eyes locked with the floor again._

_"Cat…." I said, wanting her to look up, but with no luck. "Sweetie?" Nope._

_I haven't called her that since…the movie. Should I? She said she liked it…_

_"C'mon sunshine. What's wrong? Talk to me sweetie." I said, hoping she wouldn't freak out._

_Her face popped up immediately. "I don't want to talk about it…"_

_"Hey, you'll feel better. Does it involve me?" I asked._

_She looked at me like a little girl. "Yes, I— um, have had been having nightmares."_

_"Nightmares? What about?"_

_"Remember your accident Robbie? You said that the car that hit you was a white Cadillac SUV. The nightmares have been that I…crossed the intersection and hit you. But you didn't…didn't…." She said, starting to cry._

_Oh man…_

_"Cat, that's horrible!" I said, pulling her into another hug whether she liked it or not. Apparently she wanted a hug because she wrapped her arms around me like a life preserver._

_She clung to me for what seemed like forever. Not that I'm complaining or something. She just hung onto me for at least 2 whole minutes._

_Finally, she started to talk again, but held onto me tighter. "You're my best friend Robbie! You are such a awesome guy, when that happened I was afraid someone had taken you away, then all the Michael stuff and you showed how much you care about me…I can't lose you Robbie…I can't…I just can't…You're too important…" She sobbed, tears falling into my shoulder more rapidly._

_"You can't die Robbie, don't leave meee." She said, looking at me crying._

_I am honestly speechless. I can't promise anything about not dying, but I'll do my best._

_"Cat, I'm not going to die on you ok?"_

_"But I have almost driven you away twice in one semester…I don't want to lose you that way too…"_

_"Cat, you're not going to lose me. But I'm not yours exclusively. I'm a friend, but nothing more." I said, deflating myself._

_"NO!" she yelled, noise muffled by the fact she had moved to my other shoulder. "You're my best friend…I trust you more than anyone else Robbie…"_

_I didn't know what to say. Luckily, it looks like she had one more thing to say._

_"Did you mean what you said about not loving me like this?" She asked, pulling on her dark brown hair._

_Right to the heart of the matter…_

_"Cat…I love you…but not like I did last week. I'm not sure about that right now." I confessed. She lifted herself from my shoulder only to collapse against her pillows. She looked miserable._

_"I did drive you away…"_

_"Cat. It wasn't anybody's fault. It just happened to work that way ok? Please don't beat yourself up about it."_

_Silence. All she did was look up at the ceiling._

_"Cat, c'mon…you have to—umm!"_

_All thought was wiped right off my mind by Cat hugging me and crushing her lips onto mine._

…_._

_Finally, she broke apart from me, in what was a very hot and heavy kiss._

_"I—oh—ummm…" was all that came out._

_"All the pain I've caused you…I thought you should get some sort of reward Robbie."_

_After a moment I gather some semblance of my thoughts and said "You didn't have to do that…"_

_"I know…I'm sorry about what you've gone through just for me though." Was her response._

_I ran my fingers through my hair. "I'm glad I came by…are we ok?" I asked hopefully._

_She looked up at me hopefully. "Yeah…can I ask you something?"_

_I nodded._

_"Will you go to the movies this weekend with me?" She asked._

_WHAT?_

_"Sure, are you asking me out?" I wondered aloud._

_"Not if you don't want to think of it like that…" She responded, looking at her pillow._

_I sat on the edge of her bed. "Cat…I'd love to go." Her face perked up with unabashed joy._

_Oh god, this is going to kill her inside._

_"But as your friend. Even as your best friend, if you'll let me." I finished. Her face fell and she slowly put her head back into her pillow._

_I heard what sounded like her sob, then respond by saying "Ok…"_

_Ok, I can't take it anymore._

_"Cat, can you sit up and close your eyes?" I asked, and she obliged, wiping her eyes like a small child._

_Here goes nothing…_

_I closed the gap between us, gently kissing her, as opposed to her kiss, which was passion filled and rough. I felt her gasp slightly and link her hands around my neck. She fell back into me, knocking me onto her pillows. I wrapped my arms around her petite waist and we stayed like that for a moment. Then, I decided I had to break it off because she sure wasn't going to._

_I opened my eyes to find hers still shut in simple enjoyment of the moment. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at me, still having her arms around my neck._

_"Can you give me some time Cat? I'm not sure what I feel right now." I started. She kept looking at me, her face saying one thing only._

_I just want you Robbie. I don't want to wait. Please?_

_She looked miserable, but kept eye contact with me._

_"I think I might still feel that way, I just don't want to go into something then not feel the same way. Do you know what I'm saying?" I finished. Her expression changed from misery to understanding._

_"Ok…thank you Robbie. Nobody's ever said that before…they either rushed on ahead or said no." She mumbled._

_I rested my head against hers. I saw her eyes shut and she sighed deeply, snuggling into me._

_"I think too much of you to do that…" I told her, caking her to hug me tightly and a few tears to come out. I wiped them away before they hit her adorable cheeks, made even more adorable by her tiny freckles._

Oh yeah! Forgot about how amazing her freckles were to me at first! Now, I'm kind of used to them, since I see them basically daily. But then…they were the most beautiful thing in the world, it was something I had told her that nobody else had ever told her before.

Honestly, I don't remember much of the rest of that year or that summer. Then came senior year, with Cat and I love drunk, basically. The wake up call came when Michael and Colton reappeared and started threatening us, even sending me to the hospital once. But we cruised thru senior year, picking up record deals for Tori, Jade, Cat and Andre while I released a bestselling book about Cat and I's love.

_I need to red that book again. I forget too many details. It wasn't that long ago!_

It was all good, except for Beck and Tori violently breaking up on the last day at Hollywood Arts, accompanying Cat and I fighting about random stuff that really wasn't worth fighting over. But it was the first big relationship either of us had ever had, so I guess I should give us some slack.

Then Michael and Colton decided to go out with a bang, I don't know what on earth they aimed to accomplish by suddenly attacking us, along with the rest of the HA gang, but they sent everyone to the hospital, and—

_"Are you ok?" I asked her._

_"Yeah, don't worry about me Robbie. I'm fine. Are you feeling ok?"_

_"Yeah, just sore."_

_"No, seriously. How are you feeling Robbie?" She said insistently._

_"I'm ok sweetie, I told you." I said, slightly annoyed at her insistence._

_"Robbie, you better not be just saying you're ok, you better BE ok." She said heatedly._

_"I'm FINE Cat. Jeez, quit be so paranoid. I'm sorry for hiding that stuff and it came back to bite me. I kind of deserved this."_

_"Do NOT say that! They are psycho! You just defended me, and I am NOT paranoid! I just love you!" She said loudly._

_"Cat, you worry too much. I told you I'm FINE! That means I am fine!Can you just take that for what it is?" I asked, quickly getting very mad._

_"I would, except for that you lied to me about this kind of thing before!"_

_"How about you just TRUST me?" I asked her._

_"I could ask the same thing! You don't tell me everything, how CAN I trust you?"_

_"You love me! Is that a good enough reason?" I snapped, pulling into a random parking lot._

_"It is if you trust me!" Cat replied flippantly._

_"I do trust you Cat, I just think you worry too much!"_

_"Well stop worrying about my worrying!" Cat replied._

_"No! You can't ask me to do that!"_

_"Why not?" Cat asked, hitting the dash in fury._

_"I care about you too much! I can't just not worry about you!"_

_"Well neither can I!"_

_"Did I ask you?"_

_"Why do you care?"_

_"Why? Why do you ask?"_

_"I love you! You are the most important thing to me!" I snapped._

_"I'm not perfect Robbie, WHY do you say that!"_

_"Because to me, you are!" I said heatedly._

_"Well you are wrong! I don't know why you love me so much!"_

_"Because I love everything about you, I wish you would see that!"_

_"Are you calling me psycho?" She shrieked, kicking…something._

_"No! I just wish you wouldn't worry as much!"_

_"What if that is natural to me?"_

_"Well, I'll snap you out of it."_

_"Says Mr. Perfect himself." She snapped._

_My blood chilled and my temper flared._

_"What the HELL does that mean?"_

_"You aren't perfect Robbie! You constantly fawning on me makes me sick, and sometimes I wish WE weren't together!"_

_I froze. Those words just rattled in my head._

_I wish WE weren't together!_

_I laid my head on the steering wheel and took several deep breaths. I think I'm going to throw up._

_It was quiet for a minute, and I realize what is going to happen next._

_"This isn't going to work…is it?" I asked quietly, looking at Cat._

_Tears were streaking down her cheeks. She looked the worst I've ever seen her._

_She just nodded as tears silently fell._

I can't suppress a shudder just remembering that. Probably the worst moment of my life. Breaking up with my dream girl, over little stuff that wasn't worth breaking up over.

I take a deep breath and try to calm myself. This isn't helping me get into character. The 20 minute to show time announcement was a few minutes ago. I hope my trek down memory lane and Misery Ave. wasn't noticeable.

"Hey, you ok?" Jade asked quietly behind me, scaring me to the point I yell in fright and run a few steps before realizing it's her.

"Jeez Jade! A little warning?" I gasped, trying to slow my heart down.

"Sorry, you were over here by yourself, getting pale as everyone else is darting around. I just care." She smiled coyly at me.

"I know, thanks. I'm trying to psyche myself up for the yelling scene with Beck." I lie effortlessly.

"Oh yeah, that's the third scene up right?"

"Yup."

"I'll let you finish getting in character. You heard about Lola's friends coming right?"

"Yeah, I heard Lizzie is here too."

Jade couldn't suppress a smile. The little demon has grown on her. She's Travis and Leyla's primary babysitter for her.

"Awesome. See you on stage Robert." She stuck her tongue at me, walking away

"Sounds good Jadelynn!" I replied, smiling.

_Ugh._

I still feel wonky after remembering the breakup. I don't even want to think about Cat and Beck's…fling, for lack of a better word. That might be the part Cat and I have never talked about. I don't recall talking about that, while we've gone over the breakup, and the most recent events with Alex thoroughly. I don't think either of them regrets it…kind of like how I don't regret sleeping with Jade during that same time period.

We probably need to talk about that at some point. It'll be healthy. Then…we can eat or go to sleep or…whatever. I think you get my drift. Her psychologist will probably like that.

Cat's even made me go a few times under the guise of "Fixing Me". I didn't feel broken, but the closest to feeling like the world was caving in on us both was when Jade and everyone told me about her meltdown in Christianson and Finch's, and the months she was in Methodist.

_Concentrate Robbie, people are getting in their positions._

I tried to gather my thoughts as Jade and a couple of people I don't know started things off. Cat got my attention not by her suddenly appearing by me, but by applying the intoxicating perfume that I love.

"Smells delectable." I whispered, as Jade roughly and unintentionally blocked Beck's advances.

She smiled and hugged me. "C'mon…we're next."

Our scene was a rush. It wasn't long, just establishing the fact that Cat and I have known each other for a long time.

The moment we got off stage Cat hopped into my arsm and gave me a glowing review of how convincing our "friendship" was, then bounced off to change for her next scene. I've got a small break, Tori's drama is the main focus, and is next.

…

"I don't know what to do anymore." Tori sighed to a guy I don't know. "He doesn't show me the love he used to anymore. I feel like I have to go out and grab his attention just to mke him love me once!"

_Sounds like my mentality while Cat was in Methodist._

I…I don't really know what happened the months she was in there. I was kind of on auto pilot. Kind of like I was the summer after the breakup. That's probably why Laken and I don't speak anymore. I…I don't know what I didn't do, but she probably has a good reason for avoiding me. I hope I didn't break her heart. I…I loved Cat. Still do. There was no changing that, despite all our troubles. In the game of love, the game itself was over, before she could even become a player.

I still think about that occasionally, when my minds drifts like it is now. It bugs me. I understand if she hates me on some level. I just wanted to be friends, and I hope she's ok.

I…don't know. Her sad texts she sent me for awhile lead one to think she liked me.

I need to stop think about her. The last few scenes are coming up.

"Hey! Nice job! Can't wait till we get back out there!" Cat bounced, kissing me swiftly and standing in front of me.

"Thanks sunshine." I smiled at her.

I swear, she's vibrating in my arms. Maybe that's because she's so happy. Maybe I'm nervous about our next scene. Don't know why I would be, this play is going off seamlessly, and we're almost done.

I hope everyone has liked it so far.

Cat seems so content when we're relaxing. I have gotten better at enjoying her company, especially since she's hell bent on starting a family with me it seems like. It's not like I don't want kids…but we need more time to enjoy each other. Moments like this, just the two of us, will be rare with kids, and I want to enjoy Cat. She's worth everything.

She's worth the world.

Right on cue, the curtains closed, as the crowd applauded our performance.

"Ok Ok! Everyone convene here!" Sikowitz yelled, waving towards himself. Quickly, he had everyone's attention.

"OK! That was a magnificiant job by everyone! Tech crew, the sets looked spectacular! Stage talent, you crushed it. Be ready for tomorrow! I'll see you at 5!" Sikowitz said, hopping off his barstool and heading for the door.

I followed Beck and Jade out to the theater, where surely everyone was waiting.

Cat grabbed my arm about halfway thru and kep with me until my parents separated us with their hugs.

"You did amazing!" Mom gushed. "You feel ok Robbie?"

"Yeah mom, I feel great."

"When did you start getting better?"

"Yesterday afternoon." I answered.

The noise level, which was already loud, got even louder, causing Cat and I to turn and see the PCA crew mobbing Lola and Tori.

"We'll be right back." I smiled at my parents, who simply shook their heads and smiled.

"Robbie! Cat!" Chase said loudly, moving forward and scooping Cat right off her feet and twirling her around.

"Hehe! Hi Chase!" Cat smiled, as he put her down and kissed her cheek.

"Robbie!" Zoey popped out of nowhere. "Nice job! You now know how to juggle three women simultaneously!"

"Don't give him any ideas." Jade quipped, as Cat hugged Michael.

"Where is Quinn and Logan?" I asked.

"Oh! We didn't tell you? Quinn had a baby yesterday!"

"WHAT?" Cat yelped.

"Yeah! A nice, healthy baby boy named Matt." Chase smiled fondly.

I barely had time to think _"Oh, Matt's a nice name" _before I was again tackled, this time from behind.

"Easy! I don't play football!" I teased the unknown tackler.

"Haha, very funny."

_Carly._

Wait…Carly?

"Carls? Is that you?" I asked, turning around.

"Yeah it's me!" She said, smiling. Beside me, Freddie had Cat in a big hug.

"How'd you…why are you here?" I asked, mind reeling.

"How do you think? We keep up with you guys, and Tori said something about this being your triumphant return to the stage, so we wanted to come and see you guys!" Sam smiled at me.

Behind her, Lizzie and Maddie were gawking at Carly, her and Freddie.

Sometimes I forget they're big celebrities. They are just people…amazing people at that.

"Who knew all these people would come?" Cat said, voice ecstatic as Beck and Jade entered the fold.

"Uh guys, you have two gawking girls behind you." I smiled.

All three turned around and immediately struck up conversation with the two girls.

I watched happily as the PCA bunch, talked to Hollywood Arts, and parents that never met talked happily, while their children celebrated a job, or play, well done.

After a while, I looked at Cat. She was staring at me, eyes shining.

"Hey. You ok?"

"Yeah. I'm great. Amazing. It's so cool that the important people in our lives can get along and like each other." She said quietly.

"I know. We're so lucky."

"Not as lucky as I am. I have the best boyfriend in the world."

I blinked several times to prevent myself from welling up.

"Aww. You're gonna cry." She giggled, dimple popping out.

"Am not." I said, ruffling her hair.

"I love you Robbie."

…

"I love you too Cat."

(A/N: I…I honestly don't know what to say, other than thank you. To all the amazing reviewers, to each and every person who clicked on one of these stories…you have made this possible. I've grown as a writer with these stories and that's thnks to every one of you guys. I went thru all the reviews before writing this, and I did tear up. I can't believe it's over. I am going to keep writing Cabbie, and I'm going to carry over some aspects of this story that were too good to let fade. Cat'll still be sunshine, and Jade will still be Jadelynn. Beyond that…I don't know. I love the new format I'm going with for my Cabbie 2.0. Speaking of that, the title will be Emerge. You'll find out why. I'll just say that it is Cabbie, and is different style wise from these stories. Again…I cannot say thank you enough. I'll catch you guys later. :) – James)


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